Today's the day! My newest book -- and newest series -- is officially here. Meaning I can, at long last, say to all my readers... WELCOME TO SCARE SCHOOL!
That, of course, is the title of this first book in my new Scare School Diaries series.
I started playing around with the Scare School concept over four years ago. It took me a long time to figure out just how to present the story. If you've taken a look at the interior of the book (either via my social media accounts, or on any online book retailer site that offers a preview of the first handful of pages of the book), you'll know that it's a "hybrid" -- a blend of text, illustrations, and comics. There aren't many books out there in such a format, but for me, it is the most natural way of creating and sharing stories. If a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using words, I use words, and if a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using pictures (illustrations or comics), I use pictures. I think this sort or storytelling resonates particularly well with today's kids, too, who are often (probably most often) consuming media that contains/blends both words and images. It also makes for a super absorbing reading experience, as kids, turning the pages, never know what they're going to see on the next spread. I'm grateful to my editor and publisher for consistently letting me (and even encouraging me to!) create outside of the traditional kids' books boxes.
Anyway, all of this is to say that this day has been a long time coming. It's a bit surreal for me that it's finally here. And now that it is, the thing that I am of course most excited about is finding out what you (and especially your young readers!) think of the book. If you want to learn more about Welcome to Scare School, check out the booktalk I recorded for the book below (you can also find this video at the Scare School Diaries page of this website and on my YouTube page). And if those readers of yours enjoy the book, don't miss all the FREE Scare School Diaries activities I made (you can download those at the same Scare School Diaries page of this website). Also, a reminder that the NEXT Scare School Diaries book, Forest Frights, will be out on November 5th of THIS YEAR, and is already available for preorder everywhere books are sold. As with all my books, if you order the book from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, yours will be signed, doodled-in, and personalized (if you want). You can do that HERE.
Lastly, for my local friends and fans: I'll be launching Welcome to Scare School THIS weekend at the Silver Unicorn, along with my pal (and absolutely marvelous Middle Grade author) Betsy Uhrig. She's got a spooky book out today, too. The fun starts at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. And I mean fun -- the Silver Unicorn will be turning their store into a HAUNTED HOUSE! Costumes are encouraged for this "Halloween in July" celebration. If you're around and available, I hope to see you there!
~ Jarrett
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