AUTHOR
AUTHOR
Though I wasn't what you would call a bookish kid, I knew from the 5th grade that I liked to write. I think it all started when my 5th grade teacher took the time to type a story written by every kid in the class. What we each wound up with was a hardcover book. I remember feeling pride as my friends laughed at my funny story. I had discovered the joys of composing words that elicited guffaws from my peers.
The drumming started in my elementary school band. First came the snare drum--rat-a-tat-tat. Then the bass drum--boom! Then the crash cymbals--spshing! And the early seeds for writing and performing The Jazz Fly were sown.
At 17, I arrived at the University of the Pacific where I promptly met other students who'd just finished their sophomore year in Japan. When I learned that I could live with a group of Japanese drummers, not attend a single class during the spring--and still get credit for that semester--I was sold. To prepare for the challenge, I enrolled in Beginning Japanese and devoted early morning jogs to chanting Japanese numbers: ichi, ni, san, shi, etc. I'm sure I sounded manic to the residents around the university, but years later I had the kernel that yielded Ten Oni Drummers just out from Lee and Low Books.
While living such rich experiences overseas, I began to harbor a desire to write stories of my own. In 1990, I went to Oaxaca (wa-HAH-ka), Mexico, where a friend introduced me to Leovigildo Martinez. A jovial spirit and a magnificent painter, "Leo" introduced me to Oaxacan markets and villages. I based our first book, The Twenty-five Mixtee Cats , on my experiences with an Oaxacan healer. The title for our second book, The Moon Was at a Fiesta, was borrowed from a proverb Leo taught me that explains why the moon is sometimes out in the morning. Our third collaboration, Uncle Snake, explores a belief from ancient Mexico about the origins of lightning.
Breaking into publishing with William Morrow & Co., then continuing to publish with Lee & Low Books, provided me with invaluable experience--and the confidence to launch Tortuga Press in 1997. Publishing one's own work entails both work and freedom. The Jazz Fly, my first book to include an audio CD, won a Benjamin Franklin Award and Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book Award among other honors. Gobble, Quack, Moon, my second such package, became a Top Ten Recommended Children's book among independent booksellers nationwide. Travels to many countries have inspired other books in progress. At home, I find inspiration to write from my wife and young son. I also derive inspiration from playing drums. I have conga drums, bongo drums, a drum set, and a Middle Eastern dumbek, and I am fond of tapping rhythms between paragraphs. For this reason, I do not live in apartments, and colleagues do not invite me to share office space. But writing children's books and drumming has led to invitations from schools. I enjoy presenting my stories with music and drama and spurring on the creativity inherent in young people.
Published Books
Give the Gift! 10 Fulfilling Ways to Raise a Lifetime Reader by Matthew Gollub (Author), Larry Nolte (Illustrator) Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: Tortuga Pr; 1st edition (May 2, 2007) 
ISBN-10: 1889910422 ISBN-13: 978-1889910420 
FINALIST IN THE PARENTING/FAMILY CATEGORY OF THE NATIONAL BEST BOOKS 2007 AWARDS.
Give the Gift! shows parents and caretakers simple but powerful literacy customs to help children cultivate a love of reading at home. Humorous, four-color illustrations depict parents of many ages, with children ranging from infants to teens. Fun, easy-to-read picture book format distinguishes this book. Hints scattered throughout the text expand on central ideas including: finding time to read with kids at home and on the go; making kids of all ages EXCITED about reading; providing plenty of books at home no matter how tight your budget; limiting time that children spend on video games and TV; eye-opening facts about the benefits of reading.
Finalist in Best Book Awards 2007 (USA Book News)
Gobble, Quack, Moon by Matthew Gollub (Performer), Judy Love (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Edition: Hardcover, 32 pages Publisher: Tortuga Press; Book & Cd edition (April 2002) 
ISBN: 1889910201
A host of barn animals cheers up Katie the cow by staging a ballet party on the moon. Includes audio CD featuring author's narration set blues, swing, waltzes and rock 'n' roll!
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist When Katie the cow sets her heart on donning a tutu and dancing in space, all the barnyard animals pitch in to build a rocket ship and transport themselves to the moon. They lark about amid the craters for a while, playing games and dancing such classic numbers as the Watusi and the Mashed Potato, then the whole jovial crew returns to Earth. The rhyming text bounces along agreeably, expanded by the good-humored ink drawings, brightened with watercolor washes. Packaged in a plastic sleeve and attached to the front-cover endpapers is a CD that offers Gollub reading the story aloud with a spirited musical accompaniment. A possible choice for teachers seeking space-related picture books to read aloud. Carolyn Phelan Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Midwest Book Review, June 2002 Gobble, Quack, Moon is a rousing and entertaining children’s picturebook with an accompanying audio CD of author Matthew Gollub’s performance with toe-tapping background music. A whimsical story about a group of farm animals who reach for the stars and have fun dancing on the moon, Gobble, Quack, Moon is embellished by its freewheeling puns, playful attitude, and exuberant full-color artwork by Judy Love. Gobble, Quack, Moon is an engaging, enthusiastically recommended read-along experience for young readers ages 2 to 8, by itself or in tangent with the audio CD.
The Jazz Fly by Matthew Gollub, Karen Hanke (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Edition: Hardcover 32 pages Publisher: Tortuga Press; Book & Cd edition (March 2000) 
ISBN: 1889910171
A singular story about musical insects celebrating language and the inventive spirit of jazz. Includes narration set to a jazz quartet.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist A fly gets lost on his way to a performance, so he asks several animals how to get to town: "ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-zah RO-ni?" he asks. The frog, the hog, and the donkey don't understand Jazz Fly, but, fortunately, the dog does. Arriving at the club, Jazz Fly sits down at his drums and begins to play, incorporating the animal sounds into his music to great audience response. The story is . . . bouncy, especially as it's told by the author on the accompanying audio CD, with the narration heightened by the music of a jazz quartet. The illustrations are mostly black, white, and gray, with splashes of color to accentuate the jazzy style. Susan Dove Lempke Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved
From School Library Journal When a drummer fly gets lost on his way to a gig, he tries to get directions from a frog, a pig, a donkey, and a dog, but none of them speaks his language. He finally finds his way to the club and all is well until the Queen Bee demands "...a new BEAT/or this band is OUT!" The fly is stymied until he remembers the retorts of the animals he heard on his way and uses those noises to create a whole new sound that makes the band famous. The rhyming text includes scat refrains like "ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-zah RO-ni" that just beg to be read aloud. The unique illustrations, gray-toned pictures with contrasting hints of pastel colors, were accomplished by scanning pencil sketches into a Macintosh computer and then re-creating them with Adobe Illustrator. One spread features the gray figures of the bassist and saxophonist spotlighted in green and pink, respectively. The text itself is cleverly designed. Words representing sounds are portrayed as if they are coming right out of the animals' mouths in colored fonts. Together the illustrations and book design give the whole enterprise the feel of jazz, even without musical accompaniment. The accompanying CD is delightful.Gollub narrates with a jazzy beat, and the danceable music perfectly accentuates the story. Children will love hearing this book read aloud and imitating the animal sounds and other refrains. A natural for storytimes.
Cool Melons-Turn to Frogs!: The Life and Poems of Issa by Matthew Gollub, Kazuko G. Stone (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Edition: Hardcover, 40 pages Publisher: Lee & Low Books; ; (September 1998) 
ISBN: 1880000717
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Born in 1763 on a farm in central Japan, Issa began writing haiku as a young child. Matthew Gollub has integrated the story of Issa's life and selections of his best-known work with Kazuko Stone's visual interpretations in the form of whimsical watercolors. Full color.
Editorial Reviews
From Horn Book Starred Review This introduction to an eighteenth century Japanese writer of haiku is as restrained, graceful, and concise as the art form it honors. Interspersed throughout the biographical account are thirty-three of Issa's haiku, carefully chosen to reflect the poet's experiences at each stage of life. Stone's illustrations are haiku for the eyes expressive and only seemingly simple. -- Copyright 1999 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
From Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review Readers would be hard-pressed to find a more eloquent...and inspiring approach to understanding (and writing) this deceptively simple art form.
The Moon Was at a Fiesta by Matthew Gollub, Leovigildo Martinez (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages, Publisher: Tortuga Press; Revised edition (January 1998) 
Hardcover ISBN: 1889910112
Paperback ISBN: 1889910139
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The sun lights the day, and the moon lights the night, and morning seldom breaks with them both in the sky. But for those days when the moon stays out past dawn, the people of Oaxaca, Mexico, have an explanation: "It's because the Moon Was at a Fiesta," they say.
Once again, Matthew Gollub and Leovigildo Martnez have created a sumptuous and original folktale set in the artist's native Oaxaca, a story as exhilarating as a nighttime fiesta, filled with music, tamales and paper lanterns.
The story is related simply, with Spanish words thoughtfully woven into the text. The author's detailed afterward contains a glossary and notes on Mexican fiestas.
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist Arranging a nocturnal fiesta to please the dissatisfied stars ("All the games and feasts take place under the sun's brilliant rays"), the moon is pleased until she realizes that the villagers of Oaxaca, Mexico, will sleep all day, and their crops will be planted late. Still, she has enjoyed her evening very much and continues to celebrate occasionally. That's why in Oaxaca, when people rise with the sun, they sometimes see the moon. Combining the social realism of Orozco with the whimsy of Chagall, the vigorous mixed-media paintings are a delight. The patterned pictures in golden hues include the sleeping half-moon covered by a colorful blanket and an exhausted human reveler draped over a tree limb. The narrative of this original pourquoi is simple yet appealing, and Spanish terms like mole, tamales, and monigotes are thoughtfully integrated into the narrative. This is the same team that gave us the acclaimed The Twenty-five Mixtec Cats (1993); hopefully, they'll take on the intriguing Mexican festivities (Night of the Radishes and Monday on the Hill) discussed in the detailed afterward. Julie Corsaro --
From Horn Book This original tale, set in Mexico, explains why the sun and moon are occasionally visible in the sky at the same time. The moon plans a nighttime fiesta but causes trouble when she forgets to set in the morning. Contrite, she decides to stay in the evening sky, but, once in a while, she insists on celebrating. The large watercolors are full of the sights and colors of southern Mexico. Glos. -- Copyright 1994 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal The story is perfect for reading aloud. The Spanish words, seamlessly interspersed throughout, add flavor. The watercolor, gouache, and acrylic illustrations perfectly complement the text--cool greens and blues reflect the light of the moon by night, and earth tones reflect the sun's glare by day. The luminous colors used in the landscapes are repeated in the people's faces and clothes, suggesting their close relationship with nature. Full of wonderful details, the pictures give a glimpse of Oaxacan culture--the paper cut-out decorations, fireworks and wooden masks, and the anthropomorphized moon beautifully convey the people's respect for nature and their love of celebrations.
La Luna Se Fue De Fiesta by Matthew Gollub, Martin L. Guzman (Translator), Leovigildo Martinez (Illustrator), 32 pages, Reading level: Ages 4-8, Publisher: Tortuga Press; 
Hardcover ISBN: 1889910120; (October 1997)
Paperback ISBN: 1889910147; (October 1997)
Ten Oni Drummers by Matthew Gollub, Kazuko G. Stone (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Edition: School & Library Binding, 32 pages Publisher: Lee & Low Books; ; (November 15, 2000) 
ISBN: 1584300116
At dusk, on a beach in Japan, a young boy falls asleep and begins to dream, but soon he has company--a tiny oni, creeping up from the sand. Throughout the night, one-by-one, more oni appear, until there are ten in all, and they grow bigger, too. They begin beating their taiko drums, louder and louder. They sail on a raft, play games, have a big meal, and eventually chase away the boy's scary dreams.
In this playful, rhyming story, young children find reassurance and comfort for their fears when scary dreams come their way. Through art and story, children also learn about Japanese taiko drumming and the Japanese words and characters for the numbers one to ten.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal In a reassuring rhyming story, 10 Japanese oni appear one by one on the beach. They bang drums, make noise, and increase in size, page by page. As they approach the house of a small boy, they chant loudly and count in Japanese. However, the little hero is not afraid of these colorful wild goblins, for they serve to chase away his spooky dreams and become small sand creatures again at daybreak. This is a humorous look at nighttime fears, a delightful counting book, and an appealing story poem. The verse is crisp and childlike. Stone's vibrant, expressive watercolor-and-pencil illustrations strike just the right balance between being scary and funny. They fill each page with action and color. Clear Japanese characters from 1 to 10 adorn the shirts of each one. The book concludes with a pronunciation guide, background notes, and a number chart. A delightful and unique offering to fill requests for bedtime and counting books.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Uncle Snake by Matthew Gollub, Leovigildo Martinez (Illustrator) 32 pages, Reading level: Ages 4-8, Edition: Library Binding, Publisher: Tortuga Press; (August 1996) 
ISBN: 0688139442
A magical tale of snakes and lightning, Oaxacan style. Once again, Matthew Gollub and Leovigildo Martinez have spun a mysterious and captivating original tale from the rich folk culture of Mr. Martinez's native Oaxaca. Full-color illustrations. Age 5 and up.
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist After going into the forbidden cave, where he discovers snakes with human heads (who are actually children who have been enchanted and cannot leave the cave), a young boy's face becomes that of a snake. He is told that for 20 years he must wear a mask and dance each year at the village fiesta. Twenty years later, the boy, now known as "Uncle Snake," returns to the cave and is transformed into a snake with a human head whose zigzagging leap into the sky is the lightning that heralds life-giving rain. Although inspired by the ancient Mexican belief that a snake in the sky brings the rain and incorporating other pre-Hispanic folklore elements (as explained in the author's note), this is another original folktale from the pair that created The Twenty-five Mixtec Cats (1993) and The Moon Was at a Fiesta (1994). With an authentic ethnic flavor and richly complex watercolor illustrations, this pourquoi tale is spooky and dramatically compelling.... . Annie Ayers
From Kirkus Reviews A murky, captivating tale based on the culture of Oaxaca, Mexico, from the team behind The Moon Was at a Fiesta (1994). Martinez's delightfully comic illustrations place readers solidly in the enchanted world of a tale that explains the origin of lightning. A boy who has ventured into a forbidden cave from which strange lights flicker during storms discovers the fate of former curious children--they have turned into snakes with human heads. When this happens to the boy, no curandero can heal him, but a nahual, a shape-shifting magic worker, gives him a mask to wear and outlines a 20-year program of prayer and dance, the successful completion of which will enable the boy to ``show the world something new.'' The resolution of his troubles will bedazzle even impatient youngsters.... -- Copyright 1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats by Matthew Gollub, Leovigildo Martinez (Illustrator), Reading level: Ages 4-8, Edition: Hardcover, 32 pages, Publisher: William Morrow & Company (April 1993) 
ISBN: 0688116396
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The healer in an Oaxacan village returns from market with 25 kittens, but the unfamiliar animals are viewed by the townspeople with suspicion and scorn. When an evil spell threatens the local butcher, the healer and his cats save her life and win the villagers' hearts.
Editorial Reviews
From Horn Book The Mexican healer's twenty-five new cats are spurned by the villagers until they assist the healer in reversing an evil spell. The color illustrations are entrancing.... -- Copyright 1993 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Los Veinticinco Gatos Mixtecos by Matthew Gollub, Leovigildo Martinez (Illustrator), Martin Luis Guzman (Translator), Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages, Publisher: Tortuga Press; (May 1997) 
Hardcover ISBN 1889910007
Paperback ISBN 1889910015
Presentations
Over the past nine years, Matthew has produced 14 books, including The Jazz Fly, a multiple award-winning book with audio CD; Gobble, Quack, Moon (his latest musical book with audio CD); and Cool Melons--Turn to Frogs!, an ALA Notable selection and a Horn Book Fanfare best book of the year. As a speaker, he has inspired hundreds of audiences at schools and conferences nationwide with his storytelling, drumming, and command of three languages--a combination that teachers describe as "unbelievably dynamic."
SPEAKING EVENTS
Comments from Matthew Gollub School Visits
| "Until you experience an assembly by Matthew Gollub, you simply cannot appreciate what he does for kids. " --Maria Cervantes, Principal, Heritage Elementary School, Lodi, CA |
| “We are still basking in the afterglow of your visit. Our students really benefited from your visit here.” –Allison Wagner, District Librarian, Butte County Office of Education |
| “Thank you for your inspiring work. The children love your books. We all enjoyed your performances and appreciated the opportunity to show you how we felt about your stories.” --Kelly Martin Mauro, teacher, Lake Forest Elementary School, El Dorado Hills |
| “Jack [my son] came home on a cloud and could not stop talking about you. I loved the way Jack said to me, ‘Mom, I met the neatest guy at school today’ and then proceeded to tell me about you as if he had made a new friend. He thought you were fascinating.” --Parent, Armstrong Elementary School, Dallas, TX |
Matthew Gollub combines humor, practical insights, storytelling, and drumming to thoroughly engage listeners of all backgrounds and ages. He has been a keynote speaker at statewide conferences including California Reading Association, California Association for Bilingual Education, Head Start, and Migrant Education Even Start. A sought after children's author, he conducts assemblies at over 50 schools per year, along with numerous workshops for students and teachers, and family literacy events in English and Spanish.
Please click on the link below for more information about
The Professional Speaking Fees for schools are:
$1500.00 for 4 sessions per day
$400.00 extra for an additional evening event
$800.00 for 2 sessions (half day)
(Half days only possible when 2 halves are booked for the same day at 2 nearby schools.)
Plus travel expenses
Contact
Matthew Gollub
PMB 181
2777 Yulupa Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
Phone: (707)544-4720
Fax: (707)544-5609
mailto:mg@matthewgollub.com
Website: http://www.matthewgollub.com
05/29/08 date this page was last edited Click HERE to return to state page