Ted Williams and the Jimmy Fund

Today, August 30, is the 93rd birthday of Ted Williams (although he celebrated it on October 30 during his playing days because he didn't want to be distracted during the baseball season). Today also happens to be the first day of the 10th annual NESN/WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon, which has raised a whopping $26 million dollars to help fight cancer, over the last nine years.

During his career, Ted Williams made countless unreported visits to the Jimmy Fund clinic, not just stopping by to say hi but actually staying and spending time with kids, helping them with their homework, talking about hitting, promising home runs and brightening their worlds. He was the single most influential person in helping to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which still thrives today.

What better way to celebrate the birthday of Ted Williams than to give to the Jimmy Fund today.

Ted Williams Jimmy Fund statue outside Fenway Park

Illustration from THERE GOES TED WILLIAMS copyright © 2012 Matt Tavares.
Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Inc., Somerville, MA.

There Goes Ted Williams is a Junior Library Guild Selection!

Great news- my upcoming There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived is a 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection! The release date is still 6 months away, and it's very exciting to get some early positive feedback. You can check it out on the JLG website. Of all the books I've made, I think this one is my favorite. I can't wait for it to come out.

the cover illustration for There Goes Ted Williams, in progress