Booklist calls 102 by Matthew Cordell a “fanciful yet down-to-earth narrative [that] will entrance imaginative children” in starred review

★ 102

Written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell

Pub Date: Apr 2026 / Ages 6-8

“In the newest book by Cordell, whose Wolf in the Snow was the 2018 Caldecott Medal winner, a boy named George is sent home from school with a temperature of 101 degrees. After catching a mouse scurrying across the kitchen floor, his mother tucks George into bed, his temperature now 102. That night (1:02 a.m.), he wakes at the urging of a cricket, and George magically becomes as small as the insect and follows it through passages in the walls to the mouses’ home. The mama mouse is making 102-bean soup for her feverish little one, but she lacks one type of bean! Now on a mission, George returns home, finds the father mouse with the special bean, and frees him to return home to his sick mouseling. Exhausted, George climbs into bed and sleeps until the next afternoon (1:02 p.m.), when his mother restores his health with her 102- bean soup. In the narrative and the art, the number 102 recurs throughout this handsome book in different contexts, concluding with George at 102 years old as he recalls telling this tale to his children and grandchildren. His fanciful yet down-to-earth narrative will entrance imaginative children with its combination of everyday life and perilous quest. Each page turn reveals more graceful, cozy illustrations, bringing this story to life with their warmth and expression of emotions. A memorable picture book.”

—Booklist