Publication Day for BECOMING BABE RUTH!

Woohoo! This comes out today!

Find it at your local bookstore, or any of the usual places online.

For more info, visit my website.

OPENING DAY! with Chris Van Dusen and Matt Tavares

For anyone who happens to be in southern Maine...

Please join me and my friend, the amazing Chris Van Dusen (illustrator of the Mercy Watson books, author-illustrator of The Circus Ship), at Kennebooks in Kennebunk, Maine on February 25, as we celebrate the release of our brand new baseball books, which happen to come out the same day.

Here are the details:

OPENING DAY! A Book Launch Celebration with Chris Van Dusen and Matt Tavares
10:30 AM on Saturday, February 25 at Kennebooks in Kennebunk, Maine
We'll read our new books, answer questions, and sign books. There will be ballpark food and plenty of fun baseball-themed stuff for everyone to do. Come dressed for the ballgame, in your favorite Red Sox gear (or Yankee gear, if you must). It should be a lot of fun.

Chris and I will be doing a mini-tour of some of our favorite independent bookstores around Maine and New Hampshire. So if you can't make it to this one, maybe we'll see you at one of the other events!

For a full list of all my upcoming events, please visit the events page on my website.

Early Reviews for THERE GOES TED WILLIAMS

A couple nice reviews for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived...

From School Library Journal:

"Following his outstanding Henry Aaron’s Dream (Candlewick, 2010), Tavares has written an equally stunning book about another Baseball Hall of Famer....Williams’s charisma dominates the illustrations, from the very first one of a scrawny boy swinging under the palm trees of a San Diego playground, to his final trip around the bases at Fenway. Due attention is also given to Williams’s distinguished military career, which he approached with the same determination to dominate as he did hitting.... This is a glorious tribute to a baseball legend and a complicated human being."

and this from Kirkus:

"Williams was a complex and difficult personality, but Tavares chooses to focus on these larger-than-life heroics, telling of Williams’ desire to be the best at everything he attempted and the joy he felt when he accomplished his goals. The language is rich in imagery, with short, action-packed sentences.... Commanding watercolor, gouache and pencil illustrations depict Williams in action as a boy, a major-leaguer and a Navy pilot. Tavares captures him well in his Red Sox uniform, with his unique swing and home-run trot."

The book comes out in three weeks. So far, so good!

By the way, you can still enter to win a free copy!

New THERE GOES TED WILLIAMS book trailer

Here's the new book trailer for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, featuring music by my friend, the multi-talented Dan Blakeslee.

If you haven't heard Dan's music, definitely check out his website. And if you're a children's book art director, check out his illustrations. Dan is a visual artist as well as a musician, and I think he'd make an awesome children's book illustrator.

Anyway, enough about Dan! Here's the new trailer. Enjoy! (And if you like it, please pass it along!)

The book comes out in a little over a month. I can't wait.