Zachary's Ball Giveaway, World Series Edition!

The Red Sox made it to the World Series!! And it starts tomorrow!!! To celebrate, I'm giving away this autographed copy of Zachary's Ball, with an original pen drawing inside, of Shane Victorino hitting his amazing game-winning grand slam in game 6 of the ALCS.

To enter, just leave a comment with your prediction for the World Series (you know, Sox in 4, Sox in 6, Sox in 7, etc...). I'll just pick a winner randomly. I'm thinking I might do a few more of these during the series, especially if a lot of people enter to win this one.

Here's the drawing of Victorino on the title page:

This copy is a Fenway Centennial Edition of Zachary's Ball, which came out in 2012. Here's the cover:

And even if you don't win, if you're looking for a good Red Sox bedtime story to read to your kids during the final days of this magical season, you can buy signed first edition copies of Zachary's Ball through my web site, or unsigned copies at all the usual places.

GO SOX!!

Fifteen Years Ago Today...

Fifteen years ago today, on February 13, 1998, I walked into the old Candlewick Press office, on Mass Ave in Cambridge, for the very first time. This was the day I found out that Candlewick wanted to publish my book, Sebastian's Ball, which I had written and illustrated as my senior thesis at Bates College. This was the day my dream of being a children's book author-illustrator came true.

There were a few milestones in the months leading up to February 13, 1998, like when I met my agent, Rosemary Stimola, in June of 1997. Or when Rosemary emailed me in early February saying that "something was happening" with Candlewick, but she "still had a bit to go".  But fifteen years later, I think of that meeting at Candlewick on February 13, 1998, as the day my career as an author-illustrator began.

I realize this anniversary probably means way more to me than it does to anyone reading this. But I just wanted to use this semi-public forum to say a great big THANK YOU to all the great people at Candlewick who I've had the pleasure of working with during these past fifteen years.

And hey, look at all these books we made together!

Zachary's Ball, 2000

'Twas the Night Before Christmas, 2002

Oliver's Game, 2004

Mudball, 2005

Jack and the Beanstalk, 2006

Iron Hans, 2007

Lady Liberty: A Biography, 2008

The Gingerbread Pirates, 2009

Henry Aaron's Dream, 2010

Over the River and Through the Wood, 2011

There Goes Ted Williams, 2012

Becoming Babe Ruth, 2013

I won't ramble on any longer, because I'm busy working on my next Candlewick book RIGHT NOW!

Barnes & Noble event tomorrow!

I'll be reading and signing There Goes Ted Williams at Barnes and Noble in Burlington, Mass tomorrow, July 11, at 7:00 pm. A friend sent me this picture from the store. Looks like they've got plenty of books!

Two Museum Events This Weekend

an Arthur Griffin photograph and one of my illustrations from There Goes Ted Williams, on display at the Griffin Museum in Winchester, Massachusetts

I have artwork in two museum exhibits right now, featuring illustrations from my two Red Sox books- Zachary's Ball and There Goes Ted Williams. And I'll be at both museums this weekend!

Several pictures from Zachary's Ball are on display at the Wenham Museum in Wenham, Massachusetts. I'll be signing books there today, Saturday, at 2:00 pm. There will be lots of fun baseball-themed activities, and I hear they're going to raffle off a copy of Zachary's Ball signed by me AND Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia!

Tomorrow, Sunday at 3:00 pm I'll be doing a gallery talk at The Griffin Museum in Winchester, Massachusetts, as part of the There Goes Ted Williams exhibit. I was there for the opening reception a couple weeks ago, and it was a wonderful event. I hadn't seen the exhibit before then, and it was so cool to see my illustrations up there with Arthur Griffin's photographs.  That was more of a grownup event (my kids came, but it was after their bedtime so they got very tired...), but tomorrow will be perfect to bring the whole family.

And there's also an amazing Fenway Park exhibit at the Griffin Museum, so if you come to my signing, you can check that out too!

The Fenway Park exhibit, at the Griffin Museum in Winchester

THERE GOES TED WILLIAMS available today!

My new book, There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, is now available in stores! Hooray!!

Here's a little preview courtesy of Google books, with links to a few places where you can buy it, like your local independent bookstore, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.

And here is the book trailer:

Today also happens to be the release date of the new Fenway Centennial Edition of Zachary's Ball (released simultaneously in hardcover and paperback) and the new paperback edition of Henry Aaron's Dream! Huzzah!

new Fenway Centennial Edition of Zachary's Ball, with snazzy new cover design and new author's note about Fenway Park

Henry Aaron's Dream, now available in paperback

Wenham Museum Exhibit Opens Today

An exhibit called Picture This: Ninety Years of Storybook Art opens today at The Wenham Museum in Wenham, Massachusetts, featuring original artwork by some of the true legends of children's literature, like Tasha Tudor and Leo Lionni, as well as thirteen original illustrations from my books, Zachary's Ball and The Gingerbread Pirates. It's such an honor to be part of this exhibit!

artwork from The Gingerbread Pirates, just before I packed it up to deliver it to the museum

Oddly, of all the illustrators featured in this exhibit, I am the only one who is still alive. I'm not sure if I should feel honored, or concerned... In any case, it certainly made it easy to schedule the book signing!

In conjunction with the exhibit, I will be signing books at the museum on Saturday, April 21 at 2:00 pm. The exhibit will be up from now until May 6. If you're anywhere near Wenham and you like children's books, don't miss it!

New Stars for Young Stars, recap

On Saturday I was honored to be involved with an amazing event at Jillian's in Boston, called "New Stars for Young Stars", where kids from The Jimmy Fund Clinic got a chance to meet up-and-coming Red Sox players, as well as the new Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine, starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the one and only Pedro Martinez.

First there was a private gathering where about 50 kids from the Jimmy Fund Clinic and their families got to meet the players. Then there was a public event, which was packed. I signed books at both events. Candlewick Press kindly donated all the books, so every family from the Jimmy Fund Clinic got an advance copy of There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, and everyone attending the public event got a paperback copy of the new Fenway Centennial Edition of Zachary's Ball.

It was great to see so many people coming together for such a good cause. And it was amazing to see how much joy it brought to the kids and their parents, especially considering what they're all going through.

Here are a few pictures:

Before the guests arrived we got to meet the new Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine. He signed baseballs for my girls.

On the car ride down, the girls practiced saying "Saltalamacchia". It came in handy when they got to meet him!

Pedro arriving, greeting a young fan

My daughters were playing at a pool table, when Pedro Martinez came up to them and said "Can I play too?" They just stared at him as I fumbled for my camera. This picture is a few seconds later. Pedro is sitting down to sign autographs.

The players were lined up for a group photo, and Bobby Valentine started barking out situations, like, "Alright, two out, man on second..."

Me and Pedro! (you can see my 4yo daughter dancing in the background)

Then we headed out to the main room for the public event, where there were LOTS of people.

me signing Zachary's Ball

the front page of the Boston Globe from the day the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, signed by Pedro Martinez! I already framed it.

Zachary's Ball, Fenway Centennial Edition

Just got my first real copies of the new edition of Zachary's Ball, due out on February 14, 2012. Zachary's Ball was my senior thesis at Bates College back in 1997, and was my very first real book when it came out in hardcover in 2000.

It's only been available in paperback for the past few years, so it's really exciting to see it back in hardcover. It has a newly designed cover, a new author's note about Fenway Park (which will turn 100 years old in 2012), and an awesome quote on the back from Peter Gammons.

The new edition will be available in hardcover and paperback, and both versions will hit bookstores on February 14, the same day that There Goes Ted Williams comes out.

Here are a couple pictures of my first copies:

Baseball Night at Barnes and Noble!

The World Series starts tonight! To celebrate, join me and award-winning baseball writer/historian Mark Stang at Barnes and Noble in Saugus, Massachusetts tonight at 7pm. We'll be signing books and talking baseball. Should be a lot of fun!

Book Giveaway! Zachary's Ball w/ Dustin Pedroia drawing

signed hardcover copy of Zachary's Ball with original pen illustration of Dustin Pedroia

During school visits, kids often ask me who my favorite baseball player is. When I was a kid, I always had a favorite baseball player. The first "favorite player" I can remember was Jim Rice. During the summer of 1987, when I was 11 years old, I switched from Jim Rice to Mike Greenwell. I still remember the thrill of opening a new pack of cards and finding a 1987 Topps Mike Greenwell rookie card.

Now that I'm a grownup, I don't really have a "favorite player" the way I did when I was a kid. Back then I watched Mike Greenwell and tried to copy everything he did on the field. I wanted to play left field for the Red Sox when I grew up, just like Mike Greenwell. Now that I'm 35 years old and it's pretty clear that I'm not going to make it to the big leagues (although I'm still a half-decent slow-pitch softball palyer), I really just root for whoever happens to be on the Red Sox each season. But if I had to pick one favorite player these days, it's Dustin Pedroia.

I remember watching him play at Hadlock Field in Portland back when he was a AA player for the Sea Dogs. It's always fun to root for players I knew as Sea Dogs when they make it to the big leagues. And it's fun to watch a player who goes all out every second he's on the field. Even when he struggles, you know he's trying as hard as he can.

When I tell kids that Dustin Pedroia is my favorite player, I usually hear a whole bunch of kids say, "Me too!" So for this month's book giveaway, I drew a picture of Dustin Pedroia inside a hardcover copy of Zachary's Ball.

For a chance to win this book, just leave a comment below.  Include your name and the answer to this question:

Who is and/or was your favorite baseball player?


You can just write the player's name, or share a whole story if you want. The winner will be chosen randomly, so don't feel like you have to have the best story. Looking forward to reading your answers! The contest runs until June 29 (it was originally June 30, but then I realized I'm going to be on an island on June 30, with no internet).

Thanks,

Matt

note: I'm hosting the book giveaway on my blog now, because apparently the way I was doing it before was against facebook's rules. Whoops.

Book Giveaway!

My first book, Zachary's Ball, came out 11 years ago today. To celebrate, I'm giving away this signed hardcover copy, with an original pen drawing of Ted Williams on the title page. Anyone who "likes" my facebook page between now and Friday, March 4 will be entered to win. If you already "like" my facebook page (thanks!), you can enter by "liking" this photo on facebook. Good luck!