I have received a lot of messages from a lot of people wanting to know about this book. So I will not draw things out any longer. Here is the new cover and title:

And here is the synopsis:

When the seasoned adult spies of the Hale family mysteriously disappear on a mission to China, Ben Ripley and his fellow spies-in-training head east to discover what happened to them—and find themselves up against a villainous plot that will take them from the skyscrapers of Shanghai to the ancient ruins of the Great Wall to the remote regions of the Gobi desert.

It will be available on October 6. Click here to pre-order it! (Although a lot of sites may not have it ready for pre-order yet. They will soon, though.)

Now, here are the answers to a few questions I am sure I will get:

That’s it? That’s all the information you are going to share with us?

Yes. The less you know about a book before you read it, the more fun it is the read. I don’t want to spoil anything.

Can’t you tell me anything else? Even if I ask nicely?

Sorry, no. And if you send me an email or post a comment asking for more info, I will simply direct you back to this page.

Will there be an exclusive edition of this book with bonus content?

Probably, although that isn’t guaranteed yet. If there is, I will post about it.

Now that you have written Goes South, Goes North and Goes east, will there be a Spy School Goes West?

I don’t know. Strange as it might seem, I write the titles of my books last, not first. I wrote this book because i wanted to set a book in China, not because i wanted to call a book ‘Spy School Goes East.’ That title just ended up working better than any of the other options.

That’s right folks.  I have teamed up with Barnes & Noble yet again to create an exclusive edition of one of my novels!

This one has a special cover, an annotated map of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (home to the mountain gorillas), Teddy Fitzroy’s safari checklist and plenty of bonus animal facts. And, as usual, it costs the exact same amount of money as the regular book.

Click here to pre-order your copy today!

Hi all!  2026 is going to be a big year!

First up, on March 24, 2026 there’s the newest book in the FunJungle series, Ape Escape.

When a baby gorilla is stolen from an orphanage in Rwanda, Teddy, his parents, and an old family friend find themselves in a race against time to save it. Teddy has to piece together clues to figure out where the little ape is being taken while traveling through some of the most incredible—and dangerous—terrain in the world.

At the same time, he’s long-distance consulting with Summer to help solve another mystery back at FunJungle. Between facing down lions on the Serengeti and chasing poachers through the bazaars of Zanzibar, will Teddy be able to find the baby gorilla before it’s too late?

I’m pleased to announce that, once again, there will be an exclusive edition of this one available from Barnes & Noble, featuring an exclusive jacket, an annotated map of—plus bonus content that features Teddy’s safari checklist, fun animal facts and more!

Click here to pre-order your exclusive copy today!

Also on March 24, you can get the FunJungle MegaFauna Mystery boxed set!

This has paperback editions of Bear Bottom, Whale Done and All Ears — in a box!

Click here to get it!

Next up, on April 28… Spy School Secret Service, the Graphic Novel!

The New York Times bestselling Spy School series continues in graphic novel form with the fifth book as Ben Ripley goes undercover in the White House to take on a SPYDER operative determined to assassinate the president.

This will also have an exclusive edition at Barnes & Noble! It featuresan exclusive cover with shiny red foil, plus a double-sided, pull-out poster of Washington D.C. and Ben’s highlights of The White House!

Click here to pre-order your exclusive copy today!

Then, on August 18… Spaced Out the Graphic Novel!

The moon base commander has gone missing, and Dash Gibson is on the case in this New York Times bestselling, second mind-boggling mystery of the Moon Base Alpha series —now in graphic novel form!

Click here to get it!

Next, on October 6…. Spy School Goes east!

When the seasoned adult spies of the Hale family mysteriously disappear on a mission to China, Ben Ripley and his fellow spies-in-training head east to discover what happened to them—and find themselves up against a villainous plot that will take them from the skyscrapers of Shanghai to the ancient ruins of the Great Wall to the remote regions of the Gobi desert.

Click here to get it!

And those are not the only books coming out in 2026.

There will also be two other exciting releases this year (though I cannot share that info yet.)

Keep checking this website for details!  I will post when I have news!

Once again, I have partnered with Barnes & Noble to create an exclusive edition of one of my books — which is only available at those bookstores.

What do you get with it? Let’s start with the book jacket: it is specially-designed, with a free, exclusive poster on the inside.

I have also written plenty of bonus content for the book itself: sixteen extra pages of fun stuff that will add to the story (and hopefully make you laugh a bit too).

And how much more will this all cost you? Not one extra cent! The exclusive editions is the exact same price as the regular book.  So why not get it?

Click here to pre-order your copy today!

PS. I know I am not saying much about what is actually in the sixteen pages of bonus content. That’s because explaining it might spoil the rest of the book. So please please please don’t write to ask me what’s in it. It’s won’t be able to tell you. You’ll just have to see it for yourself when you get the book.

Many people have been asking me about this book over the past few months, so I am happy to finally be able to share some information about it with you. (It took some time for everyone at my publisher to agree on a title and cover.)

Anyhow, here’s the cover, created, as usual, by the amazing Lucy Cummins::

And here’s the synopsis:

When a baby gorilla is stolen from an orphanage in Rwanda, Teddy, his parents, and an old family friend find themselves in a race against time to save it. Teddy has to piece together clues to figure out where the little ape is being taken while traveling through some of the most incredible—and dangerous—terrain in the world.

At the same time, he’s long-distance consulting with Summer to help solve another mystery back at FunJungle. Between facing down lions on the Serengeti and chasing poachers through the bazaars of Zanzibar, will Teddy be able to find the baby gorilla before it’s too late?

The book will be released on March 24, 2026. Although if you would like to preorder it, you can do that by clicking here.

I am thrilled to finally announce a project that I have been working on with Simon & Schuster for the past year:

Whether you’re a young writer looking for tips, a teacher hoping to educate your students about creative writing, or a homeschooler looking for some fun new lessons, Mission: Write should appeal to you.  There are currently six videos (with more coming in the future) hosted by me — and accompanying lesson plans written by the brilliant educator, Rose Brock.

Best of all, it’s free!  So take a look for yourself.  Just click here to watch and learn!

I, along with many of my favorite writers (and probably yours), have contributed to this amazing anthology:

In a collection of personal stories and essays, award-winning and bestselling authors write about how hope always wins, even in the darkest of times.  Here are just a few of the people who contributed to this book: Tom Angleberger, Sarah Mlynowski, Max Brallier, Julie Buxbaum, Pablo Cartaya, J. C. Cervantes, Rex Ogle, Matt de la Peña, Adam Gidwitz, R.L. Stine, Veera Hiranandani, Hena Khan, Karina Yan Glaser, James Ponti, Soman Chainani, Pam Munoz Ryan, Christina Soontornvat and Gordon Korman.  And oh yeah, the cover art is by Vashti Harrison, and the whole book is edited by the amazing Rose Brock.

I have read all these stories, and they are all truly wonderful.  If you have ever wanted to know more about the lives of your favorite authors, this is your chance.

The book is now available everywhere books are sold. Get it now by clicking here.

This should be pretty obvious from the title of this post, but Once Upon A Tim just got a rave review from the New York Times.

You can read the whole thing by clicking here, but here are some notable quotes:

“Fans of heraldic silliness like “The Princess Bride” and “Shrek” will delight in “Once Upon a Tim,” a charming take on the traditional knightly adventure.”

“The book’s fun comes from Gibbs’s deployment of deadpan humor and boisterous slapstick. Its heart lies in a clever subversion of type.”

“Writing may be magic, but so is reading.”

“This giddy romp through a medieval setting, complete with menacing trolls and gigantic, bloodthirsty butterflies, is the start of a promising series.”

Excited?  Ready for a good story?  Then just click here to order the book!

Also, I am happy with any good review, especially ones from readers.  So if you have enjoyed Tim (or any of my books) feel free to post a positive review on Goodreads.  Just click here.

(For tips on how to write a good review, check out this blog post.)

As anyone who visits this site knows, I am a huge supporter of the conservation movement and do my best in my books (particularly the FunJungle series) to educate readers about environmental issues.

So I am pleased to announce that I have joined the advisory board of Conservation Nation. This organization has two goals:

1. To provide grants and support to emerging and established conservationists from underrepresented groups who are doing wildlife-saving work.
2. To engage and inspire underserved high school students to explore careers in conservation through programs that offer experiential learning, access to field professionals, and micro grants for projects close to home.

You can learn more about this great organization by clicking here.

Or you can learn how to get involved by clicking here.

I had my first meeting as part of the advisory committee on education yesterday and I could not be more impressed by the people who work for CN, the plans they have and their commitment to both the planet and to the next generation of conservationists.

The last time I wrote a blog post about how to write and on line reviews was nearly nine years ago.  Back then, I was really explaining to visitors to my site how to post a review on Goodreads or Amazon.

I realize that, these days, most people (or at least most people who read my books) know how to do this.  But it has come to my attention that there are several things many people do in writing their reviews that annoy other people.  So I figured I would write a new post, trying to correct some of these problems.

1. DO NOT PUT SPOILERS IN YOUR REVIEW!!!!

There is not a single person on earth who appreciates having a review spoil a surprise in a book that they want to read.  NO ONE!  And writing ‘Warning: Spoilers Ahead’ does not mitigate the damage.

It is very very easy to not put a spoiler in your review.  Simply don’t share anything from the book that you were surprised to find out.  Of course, this not only applies to writing reviews on websites, but also comments on this webpage — or any other.

And, for the record, I am not only talking to amateur reviewers here.  There are plenty of professional — or at least seasoned — reviewers who spoil things in their reviews all the time.  Don’t do it.  Or random people will hate you.

2. ROUND UP.

Just about every site only gives you five options for reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars.  Admittedly,  having only five options lacks nuance.  That said, it is staggering to see how many times someone will give a four star review and say, ‘I really think this should be 4.5 stars.’  If you ever feel like this, round up!  That’s just basic math, people.  And do you know what it costs you to give something 5 stars instead of 4?  NOTHING.

3. BE OPEN-MINDED

If you don’t like the subject matter that a book veers into, that doesn’t mean it deserves a one star review.   Because that isn’t really a review of the book at all; it’s your own personal issues coming through.

If you don’t believe in evolution and a book mentions it, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. If you are uneasy with the concept of homosexuality and a book has a gay character, that doesn’t make it a bad book.  If you feel that a book shouldn’t use a synonym for ‘buttocks’ and it does, that doesn’t make it a bad book.  (In that case, try reviewing the book for the 69,999 words in it that didn’t offend you, rather than the 1 that did.)  A bad review based on your own personal issues says more about you than it does about the book.

4. BE NICE TO OTHERS WHO WILL READ THE REVIEW

Recently, I have had issues with people purposefully posting spoilers — or even fake spoilers — simply to upset people.  That’s not cool.

That said, if you really didn’t like a book of mine, you should feel free to write a review saying that you didn’t like it.  Personally, I find well-written reviews explaining what a person’s problems with my book were to be very helpful.  (Although I certainly like reading 5-star reviews more.)

5. DON’T GIVE A BOOK A BAD REVIEW AS A JOKE

You’re probably thinking to yourself ‘Why is Stuart even writing this?  What kind of knucklehead would post a bad review as a joke?’

This one, for starters:

And that’s not the only time i have found a review like this.  I can’t believe I have to say this, but: Don’t do this!  Most people don’t read every single review a book has.  They just look at the cumulative ratings.  A once star review doesn’t get counted as a joke.  It gets counted as the worst possible review.

Also… This isn’t even remotely funny.  Would you think it was funny if a teacher gave you an F on a test and then said, “I was just joking!”  I am guessing that you would not.  So please, folks, if you’re going to make a joke on-line, don’t do it at someone else’s expense — and also, try to be funny.

Okay.  I’ve said my piece.  Thanks for reading this.