 posing for a reference photo while working on Henry Aaron's Dream |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Tavares was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1975. He grew up in Winchester, a suburb just outside of Boston. Matt wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Sebastian's Ball, as his senior thesis at Bates College. Three years later, after much revision, Sebastian's Ball became Zachary's Ball (Candlewick, 2000), his first published picture book. Zachary's Ball went on to win an Oppenheim Gold Seal Award, a Massachusetts Book Award Honor, and was named one of Yankee Magazine's 40 Classic New England Children's Books. Since then, Matt has published eight more books, all with Candlewick Press: he was the author-illustrator of Henry Aaron's Dream, Mudball and Oliver's Game, and the illustrator of The Gingerbread Pirates, written by Kristin Kladstrup, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, attributed to Anonymous, Jack and the Beanstalk, written by E. Nesbit, Iron Hans: A Grimms' Fairy Tale, retold by Stephen Mitchell, and Lady Liberty: A Biography, written by Doreen Rappaport. Matt's books have won several awards, including three Parents' Choice Gold Awards, a Parents' Choice Silver Honor, two Oppenheim Gold Seal Awards, and an International Reading Association Children's Book Award, as well as starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly, The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. His illustrations have been exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, and at the Brandywine River Museum. Matt lives in Ogunquit, Maine with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters. For more information about Matt, visit the Candlewick Press website. |
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