Matt Novak: Young Authors Guest

Only a few authors get the honor or illustrating their own books. Matt Novak is one of those authors. He has written more than 20 books, illustrating all of these and some for other authors, as well. He uses bright colors and a cartoon style with a dash of humor that appeals to young readers.

NO ZOMBIES ALLOWED is tale of two party planning witches getting ready for their annual monster party. While cleaning the house for the party, they find various photographs from last year’s gathering and begin to think about improving their guest list. They cross off the zombies who “kept dropping their eyes into the punch bowl,” the werewolves who “coughed up furballs all over the house,” and the vampires who “sucked all the juice out of the fruit.” As the guest list gets shorter and shorter, the party sounds less and less fun. You probably guessed that they ended up inviting all their friends, just like last year, and had the best time ever!

MY FROGGY VALENTINE is a twist on the story of “The Frog Prince.” In this version, Princess Polly wants to meet a wonderful prince, but is pursued by four frogs, all claiming that a kiss from her will turn them into a prince. One turns into the prince of trolls, the next into the prince of goblins, and the third becomes prince of hairy beasts; each one worse than the other. Should she take a chance on the fourth frog? Read on if you are looking for a happy ending.

This talented author will be featured at the Young Authors Conference this week. His books are available in the Youth Services area of the library.

~Lynette