My 2012 offerings (and more) at 7-Imp!

Please take a moment and head over to one of THE best kidlit blogs in the biz, 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Today, Julie (Jules!) Danielson has posted an extensive interview that talks up and shows off the books I have coming out in 2012. As well as my road to publication, my process, my filthy cluttered studio, and a weird bit about turkey butts. Jules does an amazing job, and it always shows. Please have a look here and leave a comment if just to say, "what up, bruh?"!

2 book release celebration April 30

To all good folk in the Chicago area! I'll be appearing at one of my favorite local indie bookstores, The Book Stall, this Saturday. I'll be talking a bit about and reading from my two newest books. LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE (by author Julie Sternberg) and LEAP BACK HOME TO ME (by author, Lauren Thompson). I'll also conduct a little interactive drawing demo towards the end. I hope to see you there!

Here's the info:

Saturday, April 30
11am
The Book Stall
811 Elm Street
Winnetka, IL 60093
(847) 446-8880

LEAP BACK HOME TO ME out today!

LEAP BACK HOME TO ME, my brand spanking new picture book by super-talent author Lauren Thompson is out today! It's a beautifully sweet story of the growing up experience that every loving parent and child contend with. It's exhilarating, and a wee bit heartbreaking, but mostly just wonderful. LEAP received two starred reviews, from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, and I hope you'll get a copy and like as much as they (and I) do.

Here's a link to my website, where you can click through a few sample spreads and bits of art.

Hop on over to your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or online retailer (if need be) and nab one for your favorite little froggy!

LEAP gets a second star!

I was floored last week to hear that my upcoming pic book, LEAP BACK HOME TO ME, received a second starred review! This one from our friends at Kirkus. Thanks and congrats to my pal and collaborator, LEAP's author, Lauren Thompson, for writing such a beautiful story (it'll bring a tear to any loving parent's eye)! Thanks very much, Kirkus, and go, go, go little froggies! Here's what Kirkus has to say:

Veteran picture-book author Thompson teams with Cordell to create a deceptively simple instant classic.

Little frog and his mother share a warm lily-pad embrace on the cover. Then comes the action: "Leap frog over the ladybug. Leap frog over the bee. / Leap frog over the prickly clover, / then leap back home to me!" As the little amphibian takes each ever-more-ambitious jumping adventure, his mother happily welcomes him back. The rhyming text creates a loving refrain that young ones will enjoy repeating. Sound effects for alternating excursions add to the interactive fun, as frog goes, "PLIP! … SPROING! … WHEEEEE! … WHOOSH!" over clover, splashing beavers, rocky hilltops and roaming clouds. Cordell works his magic with pen, ink and vibrant watercolors to not only perfectly complement the text but also show little frog's growing confidence and sheer glee at each accomplishment as the day progresses. Mama frog patiently awaits her little one with smiles, crayons, a storybook, dinner and, finally, another hug as he does a "Leap frog over the sun. / Leap frog as high as you please. / Leap frog out to the farthest stars… / when you leap home, here I'll be." A sure delight to present to a preschool group or share one on one.

Hop to it and make sure this is on your shelf! (Picture book. 2-4)

LEAP BACK HOME TO ME gets a STAR!

I've been meaning to celebrate this on the blog. My upcoming picture book (April 26) with the most excellent Lauren Thompson, LEAP BACK HOME TO ME, just got a STARRED review in Publishers Weekly!! Very exciting. Here goes:

Leap Back Home to Me
Lauren Thompson, illus. by Matthew Cordell, S&S/McElderry, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-0664-3

Sweet and simple, lively and expressive, this picture book provides a loving template for parents who want to encourage their children to explore an ever-widening world without losing their connection to home and family. A wise mother frog encourages her child to leap away in baby steps--"Leap frog over the ladybug./ Leap frog over the bee./ Leap frog over the tickly clover,/ then leap back home to me!" Cordell's (Trouble Gum) marvelous pen and ink with watercolor illustrations showcase the small frog's increasing confidence and joy in its independence (at one point, it rockets directly toward readers with a "wheeeee!"), while its mother patiently provides crayons, food, books, and love to welcome it back home. The mother's refrain ("then leap back home to me!") changes at the end, after the frog has leapt over mountains and even into outer space ("Leap frog as high as you please.... when you leap home, here I'll be"). Thompson (the Little Quack series) offers unconditional reassurance that, even as children leapfrog into their adult lives, nothing will sever a parent's love. Ages 2–6. (Apr.)


And I say, HUZZAH!!

ring-a-ding-ding.

Let's ring in 2010, here on the blog, with a little bit of "whatchu know good?". Down south, where I'm from, that roughly translates to "what's the good word?". Here's some latest and greatest in word.



1. Just finished finals (all but jacket) on my latest illustrated picture book. Titled LEAP FROG. Written by Lauren Thompson, illo'd by yours true. I'm quite happy with the end drawings. A very sweet book, this one, and thrilled to have been invited.

2. Julie's new one, INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER, just got short-listed for the CYBILS (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) best YA fiction. Only a handful left in the running, in this category, and I think my babe should win. Git er done, CYBs?



3. One of my previous collaborative pic books, RIGHTY AND LEFTY, (written by my pal, Rachel Vail--we also recently teamed up on her über-cool forthcoming middle-grade novel, JUSTIN CASE) just got picked up by a Korean publisher. Which means it'll be getting some fancy Korean type-treatment for this foreign release. Can't wait to get a look at this!

4. Currently kicked into high gear for my next author/illustrator picture book. The text is mainly wrapped. Just a few tweaks left to tweak. Which means now I'm off and into sketches. Super-psyched here. Pumped.

These are the highlights of the moment. Shall we start this new year? We shall, and right. Onward, folks!

Scrawlings of a Madman

Generally, when I'm working on final art, I go through alternating periods of, "I'm worthless!" and "I'm brilliant!". Usually, I land in the area of, "At least I'm OK.".

Sometimes, when people look at my drawings, I get an occasional, "I bet it doesn't take you too long to draw, huh?". I am a tortured soul, dear readers. If you only knew.

You see, I just drew this frog 6 (and a half) times, wasting precious and pricey watercolor paper, because one little wiggly line didn't look wiggly enough. Or because the circles of the eyes were TOO circular. Or because the lines that make the mouth met kinda weird. Or because there were a few too many "bumps" on his skin. Et cetera.

I know what you're thinking. "Huh?"

Cut me some slack. "I'm brilliant!"








In the end, we have prevailed. On to page 2!

Froggy Went a Courtin'

I'm in the middle of my editing process with this sketch dummy I'm working hard on getting out this week (hopefully by tomorrow). In the interim, I'd like to show, here, some drawings I did recently pitching myself for a forthcoming picture book title at Simon and Schuster (by a kickin' author, I'll not yet name). Here's what I came up with. And happy to say, these sealed the deal! Very psyched about it. My awesome agent, Rosemary Stimola, was way instrumental. Thanks, Ro!