Matthew Forsythe

Cards for the Magic the Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed set including:

Hexing Squelcher, Spry and Mighty, Lavaleaper, Aurora Awakened, and Glen Elendra’s Answer.

For enquiries about Artist Proofs, please contact Donny Caltrider donald.caltrider@gmail.com

Written by Matthew Forsythe

Simon & Schuster, 2025

A story about setting boundaries with your shadow.

2026 Governor General’s Award Finalist
Gold Medal, California Book Awards
Best of 2025, New York Magazine
Best of 2025, School Library Journal
Best of 2025, The Globe and Mail

★ “This might be a perfect picture book.” Quill & Quire

★ “Forsythe’s wry humour and whimsical illustrations are a masterclass in comedic timing.” Shelf Awareness

★ “A subtle, sweet friendship story from a true original.” Booklist

★ “Many astute moments of comedy in a book that captures the dance of unlikely bonds.” Publishers Weekly

“Crystal-clear text, iridescent artwork and impactful page turns.” The New York Times

“Children and adults will howl at the deadpan comedy of this tale about making room in the spirit of friendship.” The Washington Post

“A wonderful smudgy color scheme that is all his own… Reliably funny.” The Wall Street Journal

“No one renders a more emotive, inviting, and luminous aesthetic.” Orion Magazine

“His art just glows on the page… And again, he’s funny. Seriously funny.” Betsy Bird

“Tied Together”

I was lead designer on the original Adventure Time series at Cartoon Network and did some design work on the new Adventure Time: Side Quests series at Warner Bros (2026).

This painting was made for Adventure Time’s 15th Anniversary show at Gallery Nucleus

Written by Gianni Rodari, translated by Jack Zipes

Enchanted Lion Books, 2025

One of the great works on the imagination and how stories get made, from the father of modern Italian children’s literature.

Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

★ “A must-have for educators and librarians looking to inject creativity into their classrooms.” School Library Journal

“A Literary Genius Who Championed Nonsense” The New York Times

“The ultimate synthesis of Rodari’s exuberant knowledge, a book of both pedagogy and poetics, poetry for teachers and pedagogy for poets.” Italo Calvino

Written by Matthew Burgess

Stonefruit Books, Summer 2026

A liminal bedtime adventure.

2026 Book of the Year, School Library Journal
2026 Kids Indie Next List

★ “Superb bookmaking artistry.” School Library Journal

★ “Stunner” Booklist

“Masterly” The New York Times

“Let’s sculpt this together” Publishers Weekly interview

Written by Matthew Forsythe

Simon & Schuster, 2019

About art. And persistence. And a family of frogs that lives in a mushroom.

Best of 2019: Publishers Weekly, NPR, Quill & Quire, Amazon, Today Show

“Classic.” The New York Times

“Instant classic.” Quill & Quire

“Dark and hilarious.” Publishers Weekly

“Stirring and darkly funny.” The Boston Globe

“A fine specimen of modern picturebookmaking — astonishing artwork, terrific writing.” Today Show

“An ode to creativity and confidence.” Shelf Awareness

“Delightful.” The Globe and Mail

“Intelligent writing for kids that will not just appeal, but engage and entice.” Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal

“There is nothing else out there like this.” Iowa Public Radio

“One of those books you’ll always remember reading for the first time.” Margie Myers-Culver

“Forsythe’s coy, playful writing is a wonder on its own but the lush watercolour, gouache and coloured pencil illustrations elevate the tale creating a warm and wonderful world.” Booklist

Painting of central Athens from Mount Lycabettus. (2022)

Production design and concept art for the Oscar-nominated Aardman Animations holiday musical.

Traînent ça et là comme des bandes de poètes

Qui auraient appris tous les secrets

Pour les oublier à nouveau

Comme des sculptures

Taillées à même les carrières du Pantélique

Ramenées du passé pour venir nous juger

Mais ils s’étirent et respirent

Et séduisent les touristes

Une fillette se penche pour en caresser un

Et son père dit Nous avons fait tout ce chemin

Pour voir des chats

———

Originally published in Chat, Chat, Chat (Marchand de Feuilles, 2020)

Written by Matthew Forsythe

Simon & Schuster, 2022

A story about a family of mice that gets a pet cat.

2023 Marilyn Baillie Prize Winner
2023 Wanda Gág Read Aloud Award Winner
2022 Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize Winner
2022 Governor General’s Award Finalist
Best of 2022: Kirkus, Shelf Awareness, CBC Books
2022 Society of Illustrators Original Art Selection

★ “Pitch perfect.” Shelf Awareness

★ “Unpredictable and uproarious.” Booklist

★ “More, please, of Forsythe’s richly imagined worlds.” The Horn Book

★ “Expertly crafted . . . Engaging, perfectly paced and full of controlled suspense and biting humor.” School Library Journal

“A deliciously suspenseful fantasy.” Publishers Weekly

“Rarely does a children’s book cast such a spell even on adults.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“Employing a range in picture books that is rarely seen and even more rarely with this strength and tenderness.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung

“This story manages to look directly at the big idea of parental fallibility—wrapped up with love and faith and trust—from such a distinctly child’s eye that we don’t even know it’s doing it.” Quebec Writers’ Federation jury

“Q&A with Matthew Forsythe” Publishers Weekly interview

Collaboration with Shonda Rhimes for this book about books. edited by Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick. All proceeds go to the NY public library system.

Cover illustration by Ping Zhu.

Written by Kate Messner. 

Biography of Ken Nedimeyer - a Florida diver who started a global movement to heal coral.  

Chronicle Books, 2018

Made with Gallery Nucleus in Portland.

Featured in A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art and letters by more than 30 of today's favorite children's book illustrators (Penguin Random House, 2016). 

Enamel pins of Pokko and the banjo-playing raccoon, made with Gallery Nucleus in Portland.

Written by Kirsten Hall

Enchanted Lion Books, 2017

A fable about a forest that finds one golden leaf.

2018 Bull-Bransom Award Winner
Best of 2017, The Globe and Mail

“Breathtaking.” The Wall Street Journal

“Luminescent.” Kirkus Reviews

“A graceful parable.” Publishers Weekly

“Elegant.” The Globe and Mail

“Timeless.” National Post