Together!

The Unicorn and Yeti team has been working hard to put the finishing touches on book six, Together--virtually of course, and it has been so much fun. I love revising and editing! I love poring over Hazel's illustrations!! And I love this cover!!!

How can you not love those lips?!  And those fabulous hats!

The book's title was chosen quite a long time ago, but now it feels even more meaningful with how much we have had to stay apart in the past year or so. In the stories, Unicorn and Yeti enjoy each other's company (mostly.) They spend time watching things zip, zigzag, and zoom in the sky. Unicorn wants to do all the things Yeti does--and becomes a copycorn! And, as you can tell from Hazel Quintanilla's fabulous cover art, Unicorn and Yeti have a tea party. Of course there are rainbows and sparkles and magic! I hope that readers will love it as much as I do, and I hope that it will inspire some tea parties as well! I do love a good tea party.

Unicorn and Yeti, Together releases on March 1st, 2022 and is available from your favorite bookseller!

Friends Rock

Unicorn and Yeti book 3 releases today! Friends Rock makes the Unicorn and Yeti series a sparkly trio of books for kids who are learning to read (or just like fun stories!) Like the first two books, there are 3 stories in this third book. In Friends Rock, Unicorn and Yeti are learning to share… a swing, peaches and ice cream, and a sparkly rock, and of course they figure things out in their Unicorn and Yeti way.

My agent, Sean McCarthy, is doing a giveaway of all three books in the series to celebrate. If you’re on Twitter then hop on over to enter. Here’s his tweet:

Sean McCarthy@mccarthylit

Happy #bookbirthday to UNICORN & YETI: FRIENDS ROCK by @heatherayris & @HazelQuintanil9! To celebrate, I’m doing a #giveaway for all THREE Unicorn & Yeti books! To enter, simply: 1) Follow @heatherayris and @HazelQuintanil9 2) Retweet this! A winner will be chosen on 10/4/19

"Friends Rock"

A Good Review for A Good Team

Unicorn and Yeti Book 2 – A Good Team, is set to release in July and I am thrilled that Kirkus gave it a good review!

“Quintanilla’s colorful, expressive art and Burnell’s infectiously whimsical tone make their own good team.”

Kirkus Reviews

I could not ask for a better team than the one I have at Scholastic Acorn! I do so love this second book in the Unicorn and Yeti Series. Unicorn and Yeti play ball, have a race, figure out how to ice skate, and of course, they have some silly and magical fun. You can read the full Kirkus review here.

Unicorn and Yeti: A Good Team is available for preorder from your favorite book retailer!

A Sparkly Review for Sparkly New Friends

Woohoo! Unicorn and Yeti received a Kirkus review! It’s my first ever so I’m extra excited, and it’s a good one too. My favorite quote: “Sparkly, innocent, feel-good fun for readers needing just a bit of extra support before moving on to chapter books.” Indeed! You can read the full review here.

I am so looking forward to this book making it out into the world. I love the characters. I love the way Hazel Quintanilla brought Unicorn and Yeti to life with her adorable illustrations.

Unicorn and Yeti: Sparkly New Friends will hit the shelves in May 2019. You can preorder it now, of course, from your favorite book retailer!

Unicorn and Yeti are Coming to a Scholastic Book Fair Near You!

Announcing Acorn and... Unicorn and Yeti!

I’m so excited to share the news! Scholastic is launching a brand new line and a book I wrote, UNICORN AND YETI: SPARKLY NEW FRIENDS is part of the launch! I can’t help but be thrilled to have a book publishing not only with Scholastic at a new imprint, but alongside amazing author/illustrators Jonathan Fenske, Norm Feuti, and Dav Pilkey. Illustrator Hazel Quintanilla has brought Unicorn and Yeti to life and it’s the perfect match. I just can’t imagine Unicorn and Yeti any other way.

Read the Publisher’s Weekly announcement to learn about this fun and unique new line for early readers!

Me, in PW? aka I HAVE NEWS!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!

Publisher's Weekly -- it's the place to go to read about book deals. It can be so fun to read, and to see the people I know from around the web getting book deals. For me, it's inspiring to read about what children's books will be coming out in the future. The Publisher's Weekly Rights Report helps me see what types of books are selling and who the agents and publishers involved are. Reading the weekly report is another good way to get to know the publishing world. Of course, when you really want a book deal it can perhaps be not as fun to read becuase you wonder if you are ever going to see yourself listed there, but it helps to remember that if you are a writer you have to be in it for the long haul.

For me, it has finally happened. My book deal is listed in the Publisher's Weekly Rights Report! It is amazing to see myself there. I have wanted to have a book announcement for so long in general. Of course, I have known about my book deal but seeing it there announced to the kidlit book world makes it feel all new and exciting again. If you don't want to follow the link I will show you here:

I am super excited about this book. It's punny. It involves cookies, and ninjas. Stuff I love! My agent really helped encourage me to write even better than I thought I could. Zaneta Jung and the team at Sterling Publishing are so enthusiastic and supportive. The cut paper illustration style that Bomboland does are fresh and fun. I cannot wait to see how it all turns out!

Get the Scoop!

When you're working towards your goal of publication it is good to keep up on the industry. That means news. You don't have to go searching all over for it. Lisha Cauthen puts together a great newsletter called the KidLit Scoop. I read it every week. As soon as I see it in my inbox I stop everything and open it. I'm not kidding.

Here's what Lisha says about the Scoop:

It's free, my darlings. a weekly newsletter about the children's publishing industry: personnel moves, mergers, new imprints, market trends, grants, interviews and such. Whatever is happening in the kidlit community this week is delivered in digested form to your inbox. IT IS FREE. Did I mention that? Be a sport, subscribe below.

What she fails to mention is that she strings a fun story throughout every issue. Nothing long. Just a sentence or two of funny asides at the beginning of each section. Okay I am going to admit it right now. Sometimes I read it just for the asides. They crack me up. Then I come back later for the news. True story.

Lisha has been putting out the Kidlit Scoop for a long time now. She's almost reached 100 issues! And the woman puts this thing together all by herself. She is a wonder. Help her celebrate and get the scoop on the news. Go subscribe! Then enter to win her fun giveaway. There are autographed books for goodness sake!