Matthew Cordell – illustratör

This Is Just to Say

If you’re looking for a nice happy book

put this one down and run away quickly

Forgive me sweetness and good cheer are boring

Inspired by William Carlos Williams’s famous poem ”This Is Just to Say,” Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine delivers a wickedly funny collection of her own false apology poems, imagining how tricksters really feel about the mischief they make. Matthew Cordell’s clever and playful line art lightheartedly captures the spirit of the poetry. This is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever apologized . . . and not really meant it.

Triple Crown Awards' 2017-2018 Gallery Honor “Just the thing for readers with a burgeoning interest in poetry—or angling.”—Publishers Weekly Nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad. So when his pesky little sister, Lucy, horns in on their fishing trip, he’s none too pleased. All ends well in this winsome book of poems—each labeled with its proper poetic form. Together the poems build a dawn-to-dusk story of a father-son bond, of sibling harmony lost and found—and, most of all, of delicious anticipation. Charming line drawings animate the poetry with humor and drama, and the extensive Poet’s Tackle Box at the end makes this the perfect primer to hook aspiring poets of all ages.

Award-winning, bestselling author Sara Pennypacker and illustrator Matthew Cordell come together in this hilarious absurdist tale about a precocious girl who transforms her community in surprising ways.

What are people for?

That’s the burning question on the mind of Leeva Spayce Thornblossom.

Fame! says Leeva’s mom, the mayor of Nutsmore.

Money! says her dad, the town treasurer.

With the help of an orphaned badger, a risk-averse boy in a hazmat suit, and the town's librarians, Leeva sets off to discover her own answer—setting off a chain of events that will change Nutsmore forever.