Spotlight on Matt McElligott

Author and illustrator of picture books and middle grade books, including "The Lion's Share", "Benjamin Franklinstein Lives", "Even Monsters Need Haircuts", "Bean Thirteen", and "Backbeard and the Birthday Suit", which is now a musical, premiering June 1-12, 2016 at Sage College in Albany.

BOOKLIST

The Lion's Share

Ant is honored to receive an invitation to lion's annual dinner party, but is shocked when the other guests behave rudely and then accuse her of thinking only of herself.

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives

While working on a science fair project, a Philadelphia school boy discovers both a secret laboratory in his basement and Benjamin Franklin, who comes to life after receiving a jolt of electricity.

Even Monsters Need Haircuts

Once a month, just before midnight, a young boy sneaks out of his house, goes down to his father’s barbershop, and spends the night cutting the hair of monsters. Every monster presents a challenge: the wolfman requires heavy-duty shears, Medusa’s snakes require intricate braiding, and the skeleton—well, it’s tough to know what some customers want. From the bizarre creature creations to the gently colored backgrounds, there is a lot of care and heart put into this package, which makes it stand out in a crowd of overly zany Franks and Dracs.

Bean Thirteen

Ralph warns Flora not to pick that thirteenth bean. Everyone knows it's unlucky! Now that they're stuck with it, how can they make it disappear? If they each eat half the beans, there's still one left over. And if they invite a friend over, they each eat four beans, but there's still one left over! And four friends could each eat three beans, but there's still one left over! HOW WILL THEY ESCAPE THE CURSE OF BEAN THIRTEEN?!

Backbeard and the Birthday Suit