ITSY-BITSY BABY MOUSE samples

I'm a bit behind in showing art from books that have been coming out this year. I'll start here by showing some favorite bits from ITSY-BITSY BABY MOUSE, a picture book I illustrated, written by Michelle Meadows, that came out last week from Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. Click 'em to see 'em bigger.

Explode! v.2

Tomorrow will see the release of book #3 of the 2012 Matthew Cordell Children's Book Explosion! FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT (from our friends at Harper), a first-time poetry collection by acclaimed author, Gail Carson Levine. It's a collection of "false apology poems" based upon the originally written one by William Carlos Williams that goes:


This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
 
There's a lot of dark and wicked humor (much of it fairy tale infused) in FORGIVE ME, and I hope my drawings lend nicely to this wonderful witches brew of poems.

FORGIVE ME has gotten some very kind reviews, including two starred reviews in industry journals (Publishers Weekly and Booklist) as well as nice mentions and write-ups in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. Here's a few clips that, I think, might go down nicely with the wonderfully sinister, but hilarious vibe of the book.

The prolific author of “Ella Enchanted” is determined here to strip poetry free of the high-mindedness with which schoolchildren often groaningly associate it.... Cordell’s cartoons are precisely attuned to the “I know you are, but what am I?” mind-set. –The New York Times 

Ms. Levine has devised verses written from the point of view of any number of unrepentant malefactors. Matthew Cordell's comic drawings leaven the mordant wit, as when Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother writes: "When you arrive / I will not be / lying / in my bed / where / you hungrily / hoped / to find me / Forgive me / tell my granddaughter / better one of us / should live." –The Wall Street Journal

True to form, many of her poems here riff off of fairy tails or nursery rhymes. Cows apologize for chewing through beanstalks; princesses apologize for leaving the dirty, smelly dwarves; the Beast apologizes for having Beauty to an unusual breakfast; and a girl apologizes for pushing Humpty-Dumpty off the wall ("Forgive me/all the king's horses/and all the king's men/ were bored")...The poems are complemented by Matthew Codell's dexterously messy line art, which nicely captures the rudeness of Levine's poem. –The Atlantic

Explode!

Tomorrow marks the release of book #2 of the 2012 Matthew Cordell CHILDREN'S BOOK EXPLOSION!!! ITSY-BITSY BABY MOUSE written by Michelle Meadows, pictures by me (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers). Keep an eye peeled for it, save this space, mark your calendar and that type of thing!

Townes

It's been a while since I've posted anything non-book here. And my top 10 column has gone by the wayside (maybe some day I'll bring it back...). At any rate, sometime ago I came upon this guy, Townes Van Zandt. And he became an instant fave. Last night, I came across this chilling version of Pancho And Lefty. A favorite from a favorite. Give a listen and I hope you hear what I heard.

Win a copy of ANO BRO from Mr. Schu!

The great John Schumacher (K-5 librarian extraordinaire out of Oak Park, IL) is having a contest over at Watch. Connect. Read. where you can enter to win a free copy of ANOTHER BROTHER! Head over there right now and enter yourself up in this and please do check out his very kind review of the book while you're there. Thanks much, Mr. Schu!

ANO BRO origins

Please head over to Kirkus online today to read an interview I did where origins and ideas behind ANOTHER BROTHER are discussed. Thanks to Erika Rohrbach for a great conversation! Here's the link.

And in case you missed it, here's the book trailer for ANO BRO! (view FULL SCREEN for FULL EFFECT!)

ANOTHER BROTHER out today!!

Psyched to say that ANOTHER BROTHER, my second ever picture book both written and illustrated by yours truly, is out today! I hope you will seek out a copy for yourself and/or a loved one at your local indie bookshop or B+N or at your local library (or request it at either, if they haven't caught onto it yet!). Online shopping works too. Huzzah!

Below is the first ever signed copy. It went to our daughter's awesome pediatrician. Dr. Zwirn gets all of our books (free, of course). Like it or not...

ANOTHER BROTHER gets the book trailer treatment!

Behold! My first ever book trailer. I have only admired others book trailers from afar, but this time I bit the bullet and made one of my own. Please sit back, crank the speaks, and feast your eyes and ears on Davy and his 12 little bros and my possibly hilarious (I mean, intentionally so...) attempt at a one-man-band. If you like, you may be better off going straight to YouTube, seeing as blogger don't take kindly to embedding the new widescreen format (sigh). Link: http://youtu.be/PtUw0Xd3S78

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?"!

ANOTHER BROTHER in NY TIMES!

"Baby brothers may be a pain, but the havoc they create can be painfully funny." Excited to share this sweet review of ANOTHER BROTHER in today's NY Times. Davy and all 12 bros say "huzzah!" Thanks very much to Pamela Paul!

Check it out here.