The Horn Book calls 102 by Matthew Cordell “a weird and wonderful story” in starred review

★ 102
Written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Pub Date: Apr 2026 / Ages 6-8

“George has a fever of 102 degrees, so his mother prescribes rest. Before he gets into bed, a mouse scampers by with a black bean in its mouth. George scoops up the mouse and deposits it in an old terrarium. He then drifts off into a deep sleep, but at 1:02 a.m. a chirping cricket wakes him up, and as he slides out of bed, he shrinks. Following the cricket through a crack in the baseboard, mouse-sized George enters a miniature world. He meets the creatures within and eventually arrives at the home of another sick young one―a mouse named Junior―whose mother explains that Junior needs 102-bean soup in order to recover. She asks George for help, so he returns to his bedroom (and his usual size) to free the mouse trapped in the terrarium, who is Junior’s father. George then wakes at 1:02 p.m., his fever broken, to his own mother’s 102-bean soup. Cordell’s ballpoint-pen illustrations illuminate the dreamy plot with expressive details for each of the characters―especially the insects and spiders―and there are plenty of quirky bits and bobs to discover on every spread. The scratchy drawings are warm and inviting, and the affirmation of the fantasy adventure (à la Van Allsburg’s Polar Express) is satisfying. A weird and wonderful story, this one may be on repeat 102 times.”

—Horn Book Reviews