Spring 2014 Events

With Chris Van Dusen on the 207 show back in 2012. CHris and I have a couple fun events coming up in April!

I've been busy trying to finish up my Pedro Martinez book, so I haven't been leaving my studio (or updating my web site) much lately. But I do have some fun events planned for this spring, so I wanted to make sure I took a few minutes and posted them here. Here's where I'll be...

March 30	UPDATE: This event has been postponed until April 6, 12:00-1:00. Celebrate Opening Day! I'll be teaming up with my friends at the Wells Public Library and the Wells-Ogunquit Little League for a fun baseball event at the Wells High School gym. I'll be reading a couple of my baseball books and doing a drawing demonstration, followed by a fun baseball clinic with Wells-Ogunquit Little league coaches. All ages and skill levels welcome. Bring your glove!
April 5	10:30 am. I'll be reading and signing books with my good friend (and one of my favorite author-illustrators),the amazing Chris Van Dusen, at Letterpress Books in Portland, Maine. Very excited to welcome Maine's newest independent book store! Chris will be introducing his brand new book, President Taft is Stuck in the Bath, written by Mac Barnett, and I'll have my new book, Jubilee!, written by Alicia Potter.
April 26	Time TBD. Another awesome event with Chris Van Dusen, at The Children's Book Cellar in Waterville, ME.
May 17	2:00 pm. Indies First Storytime Day! I'll be reading some of my favorite picture books at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA, alongside my friends and fellow author-illustrators Joe McKendry, Jarrett Krosoczka, and Jef Czekaj.
	School visits
March 3	Cutler School, South Hamilton, MA
March 12	South Memorial School, Peabody, MA
March 14	Centre School, Hampton, NH
March 26	H.O. Smith School, Hudson, NH
March 27	Hills Garrison School, Hudson, NH
March 28	Mill Pond Elementary School, Westborough, MA
April 1	Windham Center School, Windham, NH
April 2	Tenacre Country Day School, Wellesley, MA
April 3	Acton Elementary School, Acton, ME
April 9	Worcester Public Schools, Worcester, MA
April 10	East School & Foster School, Hingham, MA
April 11	Hall School, Waterville, ME
April 14	Maude H. Trefethen Elementary School, New Castle, NH
April 15	Winchester Authorfest, Winchester, MA
April 16	CK Burns School, Saco, ME
April 17	Holderness Central School, Holderness, NH
April 29	Pomperaug School, Southbury, CT
April 30	Gainfield Elementary School, Southbury, CT
May 1	Long Meadow Elementary School, Middlebury, CT
May 2	Middlebury Elementary School, MIddlebury, CT
May 20	Wheelock School, Medfield, MA
May 29	Bennett Elementary School, Bellevue, WA
May 30	Eastgate Elementary School, Bellevue, WA
June 2	Benton Elementary School, Benton, ME
June 3	Beaver Brook Elementary School, Abington, MA
June 9	Varnum Brook Elementary School, Pepperell, MA

Kennebooks Event Tomorrow!

One last stop on the Van Dusen/Tavares 2012 World Tour...

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 16 at 10:30 AM, Chris Van Dusen and I will be reading and signing our new baseball books at Kennebooks in Kennebunk, Maine. If you happen to be in southern Maine, come join us. Maybe I'll bring a wiffle ball and bat and we can having a little Team Tavares vs. Team Van Dusen wiffle ball game after the signing...

me and Chris at one of our baseball events this spring

Ted Williams and Randy Riley

Hey look, it's Chris Van Dusen and me on 207, talking about our new baseball books, There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived (by me) and Randy Riley's Really Big Hit (by Chris)!



Which reminds me... this is just a few days away!


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!

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.

207

Yesterday my friend, the incredibly talented Chris Van Dusen and I were interviewed by Kathleen Shannon for the tv show, 207. The segment will air on February 16 on Maine's NBC affiliate, WCSH-6, a couple days after our new books come out.

Since Chris and I both have books coming out on the same day, and both books are published by Candlewick Press, and both books happen to be about baseball... we thought it would be fun to do some events together. So we've got a little tour planned at bookstores around Maine and New Hampshire.

Once all the details are squared away, I'll post the whole list of dates. But if you happen to be in southern Maine, mark this one on your calendars: 

Book Launch Celebration with Chris Van Dusen and Matt Tavares

Febraury 25 at Kennebooks in Kennebunk, Maine at 10:30 am.

Join us as we celebrate the release of our new baseball books,  

There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived (by me) 

and Randy Riley's Really Big Hit (by Chris). 

Hope to see some of you there! In the meantime, I feel like we need to come up with some sort of name for this tour. The Van Dusen/Tavares Home Run Trot? Hmmm... If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment!

Chris Van Dusen, me, and Kathleen Shannon on the set of 207

Chris and me with our new baseball books

Going once...

Book Expo America, the big annual book industry conference, starts today in New York City. I won't be there this year, but one of my illustrations will be. I donated this painting of Henry Aaron hitting his record-breaking 715th home run to this year's ABC Children's Group at ABA Silent Auction--the most recent incarnation of the annual ABC event, now in its 17th year.

The silent auction takes place tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 25. There is some amazing artwork up for bid, by some of my favorite illustrators, like Matt Phelan, Mo Willems, John Rocco, Bryan Collier, Paul O. Zelinsky, Chris Van Dusen... the list goes on and on. You can see all the artwork here.

All proceeds from the auction benefit the new ABFFE Fund for Free Speech in Children's Books, which promotes understanding of the importance of free speech for children and young readers and provides support to the students, parents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers who fight the hundreds of challenges to children's books that occur in schools and libraries every year.

The auction is a ticketed event, but I've heard rumors of an online element later on. I'll keep you posted.

If you happen to be at BEA, stop by the Candlewick booth and check out my upcoming picture book, Over the River and Through the Wood (Fall, 2011). Thanks to Candlewick for posting this picture on facebook, so I can live vicariously through them as I sit here in my studio in Maine (middle shelf, far left).