Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Arie Kaplan!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Arie Kaplan
Arie Kaplan (he/him) is an American writer and comedian. He is the author of the 96 Facts About… series as well as the book Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed! and a writer for Mad magazine. He lives in New York City.
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About the Book: PUMPKIN SPICE
A delicious celebration of fall that hits all the senses, complete with a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice blend! Little ones will love cozying up with this board book and learning all about the delights of autumn.
Pumpkin Spice is getting ready to paint the leaves red, yellow, and orange for fall when she meets a talking pumpkin who introduces her to the real reason the leaves change color, before immersing her in the sights, smells, and tastes of the season.
Focusing on the senses, this board book celebrates all the reasons to love the fall—from the beautiful foliage to the delicious food to the joyful holidays.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What inspired you to write this book?
AK: In recent years, I’ve become obsessed with fall foliage, and I’ve also noticed that poets and travel writers have such a beautiful way of describing autumn leaves. I wanted to write something like that, but for very young children. More specifically, I wanted to write a book that was a celebration of fall foliage, as well as all of the other aspects of autumn that are so unique.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
AK: I really love the scene where the aroma of the Thanksgiving dinner is drifting towards Pumpkin Spice and her friend Jack (the talking pumpkin). And the text describes what Pumpkin Spice and Jack can smell: “Warm, soothing cinnamon. Spicy, sweet nutmeg. Peppery, fierce ginger.” I think that really describes these unique aromas in a way that paints a picture in readers’ heads.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
AK: Oh, I’ve learned SO many things throughout my writing career, and I’m always learning new things. But perhaps the most important thing is something which is a bit of a cliché, but it’s true nevertheless: when you’re writing any type of story, you should be yourself. That means you should lean into the subjects or topics or genres that fascinate you. What are the things that you’re obsessed with? Write the type of story that you’ve been aching to write. Write the types of characters you’re burning to explore. Don’t shy away from that or think it’s “too weird.” It’s not too weird. It’s what makes you special. It’s what you – and only you – can bring to the table. And it’s what your readers will respond to the most. When your readers say they like your work, they are responding to your writing talent, your mastery of the craft. But perhaps more than even that, they’re also responding to your point of view. How you see the world. No one else can duplicate that. It’s something that is uniquely your own.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
AK: The warm colors. And how joyful the cover is. It’s an expression of pure joy. Monique Dong is so talented! Her illustrations for this book are stunning!
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you want your reader to remember from this book?
AK: Sometimes in life, the most simple things are the most beautiful. Like a piece of fresh fruit or a sunrise. That also applies to the beauty of autumn colors, and the wonder of autumn sights and smells. This world is a magical place, and sometimes, all you have to do is look around you to see the magic.
YABC: What are your favorite themes or tropes?
AK: One of my favorite tropes is the creative person who sees the world in a different way than everyone else. That certainly applies to Pumpkin Spice. At the beginning of the book, she doesn’t realize that the leaves turn colors on their own during the autumn, so she’s about to paint the leaves to give them their autumn colors. The rules of the world don’t quite make sense to her, so she’s guessing what those rules are. (That’s definitely the way I felt when I was a kid, by the way.) She’s an independent thinker, a non-conformist, a creative free spirit. Also, for the majority of Pumpkin Spice (the book), Pumpkin Spice (the character) is dressed as a pumpkin. So when we first meet her, she’s a kid who dresses up in a pumpkin costume and is getting ready to paint leaves different colors. That’s her idea of fun. I’d say she’s certainly a creative free spirit.
Another favorite trope is the friendly or misunderstood monster, and I’ve certainly written my fair share of books, graphic novels, and comic book stories about those kinds of characters. Like a vampire who’s incredibly nice, but who people are frightened of because he happens to have fangs. And although Pumpkin Spice is not a monster – not even a little bit – one could make the argument that her newfound friend Jack the pumpkin is a monster, because he’s a talking Jack-o’-lantern. (Hence why his name is “Jack.”) But if Jack is a monster, he’s certainly a friendly one.
I should also add that I don’t think of the creative free spirit or the misunderstood monster as tropes. I think of them as character types. That’s because the word “trope” is usually used as a negative or pejorative term these days. Can you write a “misunderstood monster” character in a clichéd way? Of course. But you can also write that kind of character in a very new and unusual way which totally surprises your readers. So I don’t see that character as a trope necessarily. It’s all about what you DO with that type of character, whether you write them in a new and fresh and interesting way or not.
YABC: Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing?
AK: I certainly do! The playlist I listen to while writing mostly consists of orchestral soundtracks from various movies and TV shows. But it’s just the orchestral music, not songs. I can’t listen to anything with lyrics while I work. It’s too distracting. So for instance, I listen to Alan Silvestri’s orchestral score from the first Avengers movie. Or various John Williams tracks from the Star Wars films. I find this music to be inspiring. It puts me in a good mood. It’s epic music, and I like to listen to it while I’m writing epic stories (as well as not-so-epic stories).
YABC: Do you have an unusual office supply that helps you in your writing routine?
AK: Well, I live in an apartment in Queens, which is in New York City. And I have a very old key which came with the apartment. It looks like the sort of key you’d find in a Sherlock Holmes story. It doesn’t open any of the locks, but perhaps it used to open them once upon a time, long, long ago. And looking at the key makes me think of so many story possibilities – what locks it opened long ago, who the people are who used the key back when it was in use – so I guess looking at or holding the key helps me in my writing routine. I don’t know if that key counts as an office supply, but it’s a supply. And it sits on my desk in my study (aka my home office).
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
AK: Hmm…What is my superpower? I think that I’m really good at writing funny jokes and clever dialogue. So perhaps that’s my superpower. Also, I’m quite good at coming up with surprising plot twists. And I have a lot of empathy for my characters. I think I’m good at seeing a situation from multiple points of view. And this applies to my work as a writer because I can see the story I’m writing from the protagonist’s point of view and from the antagonist’s point of view as well. Which, again, goes into the whole empathy thing. If you can’t imagine what life is like for someone who has had a completely different life experience than you have had – if you can’t feel empathy for that person – I don’t think you can be a good writer. So you could say that empathy is my superpower. That, and heat vision. (But don’t tell anyone about the heat vision. Then they’ll figure out my secret identity!)
YABC: What’s up next for you?
AK: Well, for quite some time now, I’ve been working on a series of middle-grade celebrity biographies called the 96 Facts series. Those books are published by Penguin Random House. And the most recent book in that series is 96 Facts About Caitlin Clark, which was written by me and illustrated by the amazing Risa Rodil. It came out on July 8th. The next 96 Facts book is 96 Facts About Olivia Rodrigo, which will be published on October 7th, 2025. I’m immensely proud of my work on the 96 Facts books, and they’re great fun to write!
Aside from my work on the 96 Facts series, I’ve also written a couple of other children’s books which have recently been published. One is called The Bad Guys Joke Book, and it’s out now from Scholastic. That book is not set in the world of the Bad Guys books written by Aaron Blabey. However, it is set in the world of the Bad Guys animated movies (and Netflix specials) which are based on those books.
I also wrote The Fantastic Four Little Golden Book, which was illustrated by the incredible Eda Kaban. That book is out now from Penguin Random House. And just to be clear, The Fantastic Four Little Golden Book is not an adaptation of the film Fantastic Four: First Steps. But it is a loving tribute to the 1960s-era Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comic books.
And finally, I wrote a nonfiction book called The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions. It’s out now from Quarto Publishing Group’s Wellfleet Press imprint. But I should also mention that The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions is a book for adults.
Title: PUMPKIN SPICE
Author: Arie Kaplan
Illustrator: Monique Dong
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
ISBN-10: 0593889142
ISBN-13: 9780593889145
Genre: Board Book
Age Range: 0-3
