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102
From Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell comes a cozy, magical nighttime adventure, in which a child discovers the mysterious, miniature world beyond his bedroom walls. Sent home from school earlier in the day with a fever, George awakens in the middle of the night to discover a cricket beckoning him on an adventure and soon finds himself shrunken down in size. He follows the insect guide through a crack in his bedroom wall, through the moonlit yard, and into the home of a family of mice at the base of an oak tree. There, in a tiny, cozy kitchen, George discovers the meaning of his quest: he must help the Mama mouse complete her special 102-bean soup for her sick young son. Delightfully sweet as it is fantastic, 102 seamlessly explores the values of curiosity, kindness, and generosity. The simple yet profound conclusion shares a clever wink with readers, encouraging them to believe the unbelievable.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2026
About the author
Matthew Cordell
70 books178 followersMatthew Cordell is the acclaimed author and illustrator of the 2018 Caldecott winner Wolf in the Snow. He is also the author and illustrator of Trouble Gum and the illustrator of If the S in Moose Comes Loose, Toot Toot Zoom!, Mighty Casey, Righty and Lefty, and Toby and the Snowflakes, which was written by his wife. Matthew lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, writer Julie Halpern, and their daughter, Romy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 4, 2026
Absolutely stunning! The added references to my birthday (10/2) and the doodles of Greg and Wirt were icing on the cake.
April 16, 2026
Caldecott-award winner Matthew Cordell creates magic in a 102 different ways in this fantasy-infused picture book of kindness and empathy. Known for his incredible details and crosshatching style, Cordell’s multicolored ballpoint pen imagines a young boy named George and his escapades with the smallest of creatures.
Suffering from a 102 temperature, he pleads with his mother to keep the mouse they capture in an abandoned tank. During the night, a cricket awakens him and he shrinks down to her level only to discover hidden passageways and the mouse’s true purpose for scurrying past them with a bean. Sprinkled throughout the narrative are “102” symbols and words to mark George’s trip this night and through his life.
A rich journey of discovery and connection, Cordell reminds readers that we are connected to everything that lives and all are deserving of mercy and kindness. A beautiful and stunning masterpiece, this is Cordell at his very best. Highly recommended.
Suffering from a 102 temperature, he pleads with his mother to keep the mouse they capture in an abandoned tank. During the night, a cricket awakens him and he shrinks down to her level only to discover hidden passageways and the mouse’s true purpose for scurrying past them with a bean. Sprinkled throughout the narrative are “102” symbols and words to mark George’s trip this night and through his life.
A rich journey of discovery and connection, Cordell reminds readers that we are connected to everything that lives and all are deserving of mercy and kindness. A beautiful and stunning masterpiece, this is Cordell at his very best. Highly recommended.
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April 20, 2026Now *this* is storytelling! Of course the author/illustrator of Cornbread and Poppy would create something so beautiful. Obsessed with the repetition of the numbers 102 in various representations.
May 29, 2026
A wonderful story. One to ponder and read again and again.
May 23, 2026
Yes. this is what i want to SEE
May 5, 2026
A few things about 102 by Matthew Cordell:
It’s a new picture book, but feels like it has always been here. I don’t know how to explain it, except for to say, it feels instantly timeless.
We learn this about how @cordell_matthew illustrated the book; “One day, while rummaging through his kids’ art supplies, Matthew found a cheery multicolored, multi scented ballpoint pen. He liked it so much, he went on to draw 102 with it, layering many lines of one color over another. It took sixteen of these pens to draw all forty-eight pages of this book.” Go to Matthew Cordell’s Instagram for more about this process!
The art is important to the story. You get insight into the story and the characters, and there’s a lot of additional details in the illustrations. 102 keeps appearing - 102 Greenbriar Drive, October 2, 102 fever - sometimes only in the illustrations. I just saw yet another 102 I hadn’t before, it’s 102% on a school assignment tacked on a bulletin board! I especially like the expressions of the crickets and the boy and especially, especially like the scene at 102 Acorn Hollow, drinking tea out of acorn cups. Somehow there’s steam coming out of the cups!
Last, but not least, if you’ve ever had that strange, hazy feeling of being sick and dreaming, Matthew Cordell has captured it perfectly in 102. It’s a 24-hour fever adventure that feels nostalgic, warm, and wonderfully weird.
I ❤️ this book!
It’s a new picture book, but feels like it has always been here. I don’t know how to explain it, except for to say, it feels instantly timeless.
We learn this about how @cordell_matthew illustrated the book; “One day, while rummaging through his kids’ art supplies, Matthew found a cheery multicolored, multi scented ballpoint pen. He liked it so much, he went on to draw 102 with it, layering many lines of one color over another. It took sixteen of these pens to draw all forty-eight pages of this book.” Go to Matthew Cordell’s Instagram for more about this process!
The art is important to the story. You get insight into the story and the characters, and there’s a lot of additional details in the illustrations. 102 keeps appearing - 102 Greenbriar Drive, October 2, 102 fever - sometimes only in the illustrations. I just saw yet another 102 I hadn’t before, it’s 102% on a school assignment tacked on a bulletin board! I especially like the expressions of the crickets and the boy and especially, especially like the scene at 102 Acorn Hollow, drinking tea out of acorn cups. Somehow there’s steam coming out of the cups!
Last, but not least, if you’ve ever had that strange, hazy feeling of being sick and dreaming, Matthew Cordell has captured it perfectly in 102. It’s a 24-hour fever adventure that feels nostalgic, warm, and wonderfully weird.
I ❤️ this book!
April 30, 2026
Loved the story and art. However, the cricket being a she/her threw me off since her chirp is what awoke George and female crickets do not have the wing structure needed to make the chirping noise that their male counterpoints do.
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April 24, 2026Very interesting. I don't think the text on the last page is necessary - I don't get it, and I would have left it with just the picture.
I'm a numbers person, so I love the way 10-2 and 102 and 1:02 were incorporated into the story.
I would say Caldecott contender for sure. I mean, it's Matthew Cordell's latest serious story, so of course it's a contender. I like this one way more than Wolf in the Snow, too.
I'm a numbers person, so I love the way 10-2 and 102 and 1:02 were incorporated into the story.
I would say Caldecott contender for sure. I mean, it's Matthew Cordell's latest serious story, so of course it's a contender. I like this one way more than Wolf in the Snow, too.
May 18, 2026
This feels like a classic. It's a fever dream that reminded me mostly of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and also other children's fantasy classics like Where the Wild Things Are, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Borrowers.
If you examine the pictures, you'll find extra 102 references. For example: the date on the calendar looks to be 10/2, George got 102% on an assignment, the honey bear is 10.2 ounces, and there's a dime (10) and a 2-cent coin in Junior's room. I also noticed both George and Junior have a picture of Totoro on their bedroom walls. And while looking for 102s, I noticed the unbelievable number of pen strokes it took to make the illustrations. Astonishing!
If you examine the pictures, you'll find extra 102 references. For example: the date on the calendar looks to be 10/2, George got 102% on an assignment, the honey bear is 10.2 ounces, and there's a dime (10) and a 2-cent coin in Junior's room. I also noticed both George and Junior have a picture of Totoro on their bedroom walls. And while looking for 102s, I noticed the unbelievable number of pen strokes it took to make the illustrations. Astonishing!
June 5, 2026
George has a fever so he had to come home from school early. He and his mom are in the kitchen when they spy a wee mouse, running away with a bean. Mom is not a fan but George quickly captures the mouse and puts it in a small enclosure so he can release it later. His fever goes up so Mom puts him to bed. That's when the cricket appears and beckons George to follow her. George quickly shrinks down to cricket size and follows her into the walls and outside. There is a mouse family in trouble and George is the only one who can help.
Can you find all of the 102s?
There are several addresses that are 102
George's fever is 102 degrees
The cricket wakes George up at 1:02 AM
And many more.
This is a delightful book that has a little bit of a Polar Express feel to it.
Be sure to peek under the dust jacket because the cover of the book is different.
And it's of interest to note that this book is drawn with "cheery, multi-colored, multi-scented ballpoint pens" which Matthew found while digging through art supplies! But not 102 of them.
Can you find all of the 102s?
There are several addresses that are 102
George's fever is 102 degrees
The cricket wakes George up at 1:02 AM
And many more.
This is a delightful book that has a little bit of a Polar Express feel to it.
Be sure to peek under the dust jacket because the cover of the book is different.
And it's of interest to note that this book is drawn with "cheery, multi-colored, multi-scented ballpoint pens" which Matthew found while digging through art supplies! But not 102 of them.
May 29, 2026
I genuinely struggled with this one.
102 reads like a fever dream involving bean soup, a mouse, and an endless parade of literary and pop-culture references. As I turned the pages, I kept asking myself the same questions: Who is this book for? What is the plot? And what exactly am I supposed to be taking away from this experience?
I suspect part of the enthusiasm surrounding this title, particularly in Caldecott conversations, stems from the artwork. Matthew Cordell's illustrations are energetic, detailed, and packed with visual references. For some readers, that may be part of the appeal. For me, however, the pages felt overwhelmingly busy. It felt scratchy and overdone.
Unfortunately, this one never clicked for me. I finished it feeling more confused than delighted, and despite its obvious ambition, I couldn't connect with either the narrative or the artwork.
102 reads like a fever dream involving bean soup, a mouse, and an endless parade of literary and pop-culture references. As I turned the pages, I kept asking myself the same questions: Who is this book for? What is the plot? And what exactly am I supposed to be taking away from this experience?
I suspect part of the enthusiasm surrounding this title, particularly in Caldecott conversations, stems from the artwork. Matthew Cordell's illustrations are energetic, detailed, and packed with visual references. For some readers, that may be part of the appeal. For me, however, the pages felt overwhelmingly busy. It felt scratchy and overdone.
Unfortunately, this one never clicked for me. I finished it feeling more confused than delighted, and despite its obvious ambition, I couldn't connect with either the narrative or the artwork.
June 1, 2026
The number 102 pops up in a number of places in this dream-like adventure where a sick boy shrinks down to the size of a mouse and travels between the walls and out into the grass w a cricket. He visits a mouse family who is worried about their own sick boy and the father who hasn’t returned yet w the last bean needed for their 102-bean soup. The last spread addresses the reader directly- “Perhaps you are asking … Was it all a dream? Was it all real?” Much, much later, the text says, when the boy is now an old 102-year-old white-bearded man, we get an answer. The multilayered crosshatched colored pen drawings, the magical encounters w creatures between the walls, having tea w the mama mouse- all these and more contribute to a timeless surreal reading experience.
May 2, 2026
Sent home from school earlier in the day with a fever, George awakens in the middle of the night to discover a cricket beckoning him on an adventure and soon finds himself shrunken down in size. He follows the insect guide through a crack in his bedroom wall, through the moonlit yard, and into the home of a family of mice at the base of an oak tree. There, in a tiny, cozy kitchen, George discovers the meaning of his quest: he must help the Mama mouse complete her special 102-bean soup for her sick young son."--
May 13, 2026
I love the illustrations! I also like the parallel story of the boy with a fever who finds a mouse he wants to keep. His fever dreams have him join a grasshopper on a trip to visit a mouse family where the youngest is ill and needs the father who left for beans to return so the mother can finish her soup. A sort of parallel universe of mice and men, if you will. I could pour over these illustrations for hours and I believe they will be the biggest draw to the book for all of my readers in my elementary school.
May 19, 2026
An inventive adventure story in which a boy isn't feeling well and ends up on a mission to chase a mouse and finds a mouse mom taking care of her ill mouse child and missing her mouse husband who was the mouse that the kid ended up putting in a tank and he realizes that he needs to fix that because all she wants to do is make the 102 bean soup to make him feel better. But it has that
Everything features the number in some way which makes it a curiously neat organization for the picture book with the colored pencil/pen illustrations that feel whimsical. I liked it.
Everything features the number in some way which makes it a curiously neat organization for the picture book with the colored pencil/pen illustrations that feel whimsical. I liked it.
May 23, 2026
George is sick and goes home from school with a fever of 102, a number that will appear many times in the story. In the middle of the night George wakes up and a cricket pulls him into a very unusual adventure. As if understanding a cricket isn’t strange enough, he suddenly shrinks and follows the cricket through a hole in his bedroom wall and meets a family of mice. With absolutely incredible illustrations, this one is sure to become a favorite.
April 21, 2026
Whelp that was a definite Caldecott award nominee! Holy cow were the illustrations super cool and they story that goes with the images is so cute, and lovely. The idea of 102 connecting each little bit of what happens. I feel like this would be a cool read aloud for an older kid audience. Adding to my SRP visit read aloud list!
April 26, 2026
From the beginning, the numbers 1 0 2 are depicted, creating a search and find. Love the images of other children’s books and other potential shoutouts. Imaginative, will be read more than once, great art done with colorful ballpoint pens. The one downside to a library copy is the jacket is taped on - how will kids be able to count the beans on the endpapers to check for all 102?
May 2, 2026
6 stars
Using the number 102, Cordell creates a story of George who lives at 102 Greenbriar Drive and is sent home with a fever of 102 on 10/2. There is a mouse in the kitchen and his mother traps it but George refuses to let her get rid of it, instead keeping it in an old terrarium. Then George wakes at 1:02 and has an adventure that ties everything together!
Using the number 102, Cordell creates a story of George who lives at 102 Greenbriar Drive and is sent home with a fever of 102 on 10/2. There is a mouse in the kitchen and his mother traps it but George refuses to let her get rid of it, instead keeping it in an old terrarium. Then George wakes at 1:02 and has an adventure that ties everything together!
May 8, 2026
A clever story with intriguing illustrations. And it seems timeless. First graders loved it!
George is sent home with a fever. While sleeping, he shrinks to the size of the mouse he and his mom caught in the kitchen. On his adventure he finds many small animals and the family of the mouse. They need the 102 Black bean to finish the soup for junior who (also) has a fever.
The theme of 102 persists as does our suspension of disbelief. The wonder and magic of stories well told. Ah!
George is sent home with a fever. While sleeping, he shrinks to the size of the mouse he and his mom caught in the kitchen. On his adventure he finds many small animals and the family of the mouse. They need the 102 Black bean to finish the soup for junior who (also) has a fever.
The theme of 102 persists as does our suspension of disbelief. The wonder and magic of stories well told. Ah!
May 19, 2026
Matthew Cordell's illustrations are warm and magical. Which works well, because this story is a combination of fever dream and fantasy and you aren't quite sure which one you're in. But what you do know is that this story is a work of art, with warm and enchanting illustrations. A mysterious book which is an absolute winner.
June 8, 2026
4 stars (I really liked it)
This book was memorizing. Cordell puts so many references to "102" in the illustrations as well as the text so you have to look closely at each page. The illustrations are gorgeous and the ending of the story is mystical and almost ethereal. The story was a little weird but I think it fit.
This book was memorizing. Cordell puts so many references to "102" in the illustrations as well as the text so you have to look closely at each page. The illustrations are gorgeous and the ending of the story is mystical and almost ethereal. The story was a little weird but I think it fit.
April 16, 2026
Exquisite and breaking the bonds of traditional narrative, this book seeps Brian Selznick level art and storytelling, leaving us hopeful that Matthew Cordell continues to pursue similar endeavors and narratives in the texts he gifts readers.
April 26, 2026
There's something nostalgic about this 2026 picture book; it's longer than the traditional picture book, and it tells a story only possible in a fever-dream state. This was a great picture book to read with my 3rd grader.
April 30, 2026
A story about what happened to a boy when he develops of fever of 102 and sees a mouse and the boy goes into a hole and remembers the day with the mouse and his fever and the beans in a soup. It takes the boy eating 102 beans in the soup to get well.
May 3, 2026
Another fantastic story from Matthew Cordell. A magical, feverish nighttime trip into a place filled with surprises. And to learn that the illustrations were done with "multicolored, multi-schented, ballpoint pen" adds to the enchantment. I love his work. Caldecott potential!
May 4, 2026
This is a really fun story with unbelievable illustrations. All the pictures were made with ballpoint pens, and I found myself studying each picture for a long time! I love a children's picture book that has a great story, evidence of big imagination, and is fun to read.
May 19, 2026
Just a tad wordy but a delight. A house, a fever, a mouse, a crack in the wall and an adventure, all held together by the number 102 take us to another world very much like our own with family, a sick child and 102 bean soup. Magical. The author's illustrations shimmer.
May 27, 2026
A charming, nostalgic nighttime picture book dream sequence adventure. Loved the solidarity with the mice.
Themes: Helping, Coincidence, Adventure, Dreams, Neighbors
Age range: Preschool-Early elementary
Themes: Helping, Coincidence, Adventure, Dreams, Neighbors
Age range: Preschool-Early elementary
May 29, 2026
This book is truly amazing! The illustrations are so painstakingly done, and are a marvel close up and far away. (I can't believe someone called them "scratchy.) If this doesn't win the Caldecott. next year, I'll be disappointed, as it is a great blend of story and illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews