Nat for Nothing by Maria Scrivan arrives from Scholastic Graphix in February 2023. The fourth entry in the Nat series, Nat for Nothing finds the eponymous protagonist having a hard time selecting a club at school. But when she meets a new student who’s facing the same challenge, will an unlikely solution present itself?

Nat for Nothing

Here’s the description of Nat for Nothing from the publisher:

Natalie is having a rough start to the school year. Each student has been asked to join an extracurricular activity, and Nat’s two best friends have no trouble finding activities that interest them. Flo tries her hand at puppetry, and Zoe makes the volleyball team . . . with Nat’s ex-BFF, Lily! So now Zoe and Lily are always together, and Nat’s over it! Nat’s feeling betrayed, and she still hasn’t found a club to join. But when Nat meets a new student who’s having the same difficulty choosing a club, they decide to create one together. Could this be the solution to her problems?

Scrivan, who is also the cartoonist behind the comic strip Half Full, shared her thoughts on writing Nat for Nothing with The Beat:

“I was drawn to write Nat for Nothing based on an experience with a college professor who didn’t think cartooning was art. I was a fine arts major and am so grateful for my background in traditional media, but I couldn’t help getting cartooning into my work.

“We once had an assignment where we had to bring a random object to class. I ran out of my dorm room with hammer, having no idea that was all I would be drawing for the entire semester. I drew it in every medium, size and shape until eventually it became a cartoon character. I drew hammers flying kites, hammers walking dogs, hammers at the beach.

“Anytime I had a creative assignment in college, high school or middle school, there was a 100% chance I was drawing a comic.

“I also wanted to explore doubt gremlins, the internal negative voices that can try to stop us from being creative. Self-doubt can help us grow and push our work to new levels, as long as we don’t let it get in our way.

“Although they still might show up, over time I’ve learned how to deal with them. I tell them to go do 100,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, or read a book. I have work to do.”

Available in February 2023

Nat for Nothing will be available at your local bookstore and/or public library beginning on February 7th, 2023. Will you be picking up a copy when it arrives? Have you already read the first three books in the series?

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