Matthew Manuel Tavares (born December 4, 1975) is an American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and writer of children's

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

Biography

New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Matt Tavares was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and grew up surrounded by books and reading. From the time he was very young, his mother read to him every night, and his family made countless trips to the public library. Years later, as a studio art major at

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

, he rediscovered his love for picture books and decided to create his own. As his senior thesis at Bates, Tavares wrote and illustrated "Sebastian's Ball", a story about a boy who catches a magical

foul ball In baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of ...

at a

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

game. Three years later in 2000, after much revision, it became his first published picture book, ''Zachary's Ball'' from

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. History Sebastian Walker launched Walker Boo ...

. ''Zachary's Ball'' went on to win a

Massachusetts Book Award Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to it ...

Honor and to be named one of "40 Classic New England Children's Books" by ''

Yankee Magazine ''Yankee'' is a bimonthly (once every two months) magazine about lifestyle, travel and culture in the New England region of the United States, based in Dublin, New Hampshire. The first issue appeared in September 1935. It has a paid circulation ...

''. At least 20 more books illustrated by Tavares have been published since then, including several for which he has written the text. They have won several awards including three Parents' Choice Gold Awards. His artwork has been exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration, the

Brandywine River Museum The Brandywine Museum of Art is a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The museum showcases the work of Andrew Wyeth, a major American realist painter, and ...

, and the

Mazza Museum The University of Findlay's Mazza Museum, formerly the Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books, is an art museum located at The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. It is devoted to illustrations from children's picture books. ...

of Picture Book Art. When not working in his studio, Tavares travels the country speaking and drawing at schools,school visits
/ref> libraries, conferences, and bookstores. He has presented at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

, the

Eric Carle Museum The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is a museum devoted to the art of the picture book and especially the children's book. It is a member of Museums10 and is adjacent to the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Carle wa ...

, and the

White House Easter Egg Roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll, is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of East ...

, and has done book signings at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

. Tavares lives in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

with his wife and two daughters.

Published books

Where no writer is named, Tavares is the writer as well as the illustrator. * ''Zachary's Ball'' (

, 2000) * ''

'Twas the Night Before Christmas "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

, or Account of A Visit from St. Nicholas'', Anonymous, 1823 (Candlewick, 2002) * ''Oliver's Game'' (Candlewick, 2004) * ''Mudball'' (Candlewick, 2005) * ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

'', by E. Nesbit, 1908 (Candlewick, 2006) * '' Iron Hans: A Grimm's Fairy Tale'', retold by Stephen Mitchell (Candlewick, 2007) * ''Lady Liberty: A Biography'', by Doreen Rappaport (Candlewick, 2008) * ''The Gingerbread Pirates'', by Kristen Kladstrup (Candlewick, 2009) * '' Henry Aaron's Dream'' (Candlewick, 2010) * ''Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

'', by Doreen Rappaport (

Disney-Hyperion Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Experiences, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints include Disney Edition ...

, 2010) * ''

Over the River and Through the Wood "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day", also known as "Over the River and Through the Wood", is a Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving poem by Lydia Maria Child, originally published in 1844 in ''Flowers for Children'', Volum ...

: The New England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day'', by

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...

, 1848 (Candlewick, 2011) * ''There Goes

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived'' (Candlewick, 2012) * ''Helen's Big World: The Life of

Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when ...

'', by Doreen Rappaport (Disney-Hyperion, 2012) * ''Becoming

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

'' (Candlewick, 2013) * ''Jubilee: One Man's Big, Bold and Very, Very Loud Celebration of Peace'', by Alicia Potter (Candlewick, 2014) – about P. S. Gilmore * ''Growing Up Pedro'' (Candlewick, 2015) – about

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . As of 2023, M ...

* ''Crossing Niagara: The Death-Defying Tightrope Adventures of the Great

Blondin Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 182422 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. During an event in Dublin in ...

'' (Candlewick, 2016) * ''Lighter Than Air:

Sophie Blanchard Sophie Blanchard (; 25 March 1778 – 6 July 1819), commonly referred to as Madame Blanchard, was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, an ...

, the First Woman Pilot '', by Matthew Clark Smith (Candlewick, 2017) * ''Red & Lulu'' (Candlewick, 2017) *''Dasher'' (Candlewick, 2019) *''A Ben of All Trades'', by Michael J. Rosen (Candlewick, 2020) *''Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier'', by Jeff Gottesfeld (Candlewick, 2021 *''Hoops: A Graphic Novel'' (Candlewick, 2023) *''Dasher Can't Wait for Christmas'' (Candlewick, 2023)

Awards and honors

Awards:
New England Book Award
''Hoops'', 2023
Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award
''Hoops'', 2023 *

California Young Reader Medal The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily ...

: ''Helen's Big World'', 2016 * Lupine Award: ''Helen's Big World'', 2012 (Honor Books: ''Henry Aaron's Dream'', 2010; ''Jubilee'', 2014; ''Growing Up Pedro'', 2015) * Parents' Choice Gold Award: ''Mudball'', 2005, ''Jack and the Beanstalk'', 2006, ''Lady Liberty: A Biography'', 2008 *The

Audrey Geisel Audrey Grace Florine Stone (August 14, 1921 – December 19, 2018) was the second wife of American children's book author Dr. Seuss, Theodor Geisel ( Dr. Seuss), to whom she was married from 1968 until his death in 1991. She founded Dr. Seuss Ent ...

Friend of Military Children Award, awarded b
United Through Reading
''Twenty-One Steps'', 2021 Other honors: *

Honors: ''Zachary's Ball'', 2000; ''There Goes Ted Williams'', 2012; ''Jubilee'', 2014; ''Growing Up Pedro'', 2015) *

Orbis Pictus Award The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book p ...

for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, awarded by the

National Council of Teachers of English The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discip ...

: ''Henry Aaron's Dream'', Recommended Book, 2010; ''Growing Up Pedro'', Honor Book, 2015 *Texas Bluebonnet Award, master list: ''Lady Liberty: A Biography'', 2009-2010 Other listings: *

ALA Notable Books American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists which are part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adu ...

(''Growing Up Pedro'', 2016; ''Helen's Big World'', 2013; Twenty-One Steps, 2022) * Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (''Mudball'', 2005; ''Lady Liberty'', 2008; ''Becoming Babe Ruth'', 2013; ''Jubilee'', 2015; ''Crossing Niagara'', 2016) *

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Oppenheim ( or ) is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The town lies on the Upper Rhine in Rhenish Hesse between Mainz and Worms. It is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde (special admi ...

Gold Awards: ''Zachary's Ball'', ''Lady Liberty'', ''Over the River and Through the Wood'', ''Becoming Babe Ruth'', ''Jack's Path of Courage'', ''There Goes Ted Williams'' *

New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

: ''Dasher'', 2019-2022 *

Indiebound The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

National Best Seller list: ''The Gingerbread Pirates'', 2009; ''Red & Lulu'', 2017; ''Dasher'', 2019; ''Hoops'', 2023 *

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

Bestseller list: ''Dasher'', 2020-2022 *

Kids' Next List : ''Hoops'', 2023

References

External links

*
Matt Tavares index
at Amazon.com
Matt Tavares index
at Bookshop.org
Matt Tavares biography
at Candlewick Press * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tavares, Matt 1975 births Living people American children's writers American illustrators Writers from Maine Bates College alumni