SATA

PERSONAL

Born July 14, 1975; children: three.

ADDRESS

• Home - San Francisco, CA.
• Agent - Stacey Glick, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, 1 Union Sq. W, Ste. 904, New York, NY 10003.

CAREER

Writer, editor, painter, columnist, broadcaster, illustrator, and educator. Trend Tracker (Boston-area television series), host. Guest on television and radio programs. Boston Globe, weekly columnist.

WRITINGS

• SELF-ILLUSTRATED; FOR CHILDREN
• Tap the Magic Tree, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2013
• Touch the Brightest Star, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2015
• Plant the Tiny Seed, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2017
• Bird Watch, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2019
• The Hidden Rainbow, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2020
• Mamas and Babies, Rise x Penguin Workshop (New York, NY), 2024
• A Mischief of Mice, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (Naperville, IL), 2024
• One Light, pictures by Anuska Allepuz, Farrar Straus Giroux (New York, NY), 2024
• MIDDLE-GRADE NOVELS
• Shelter, Random House (New York, NY), 2021
• Select, Random House Children’s Books (New York, NY), 2023
• LIFESTYLE BOOKS
• Discover Rhode Island: AMC Guide to the Best Hiking, Biking, and Paddling, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 2004
• Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style, Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 2008
• The Art of the Compliment: Using Kind Words with Grace and Style, Skyhorse (New York, NY), 2009
• (With Nancy Clarke) My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer, Sellers (Portland, ME), 2011
• Simply Charming: Compliments & Kindness for All Occasions, Skyhorse Publishing (New York, NY), 2012
• COOKING AND FOOD BOOKS
• (With Tina Miller) Vineyard Harvest, photographs by Alison Shaw, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2005
• The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery, Little, Brown and Company (New York, NY), 2007
• (With Tracy Stern) Tea Party: Twenty Themed Tea Parties with Recipes for Every Occasion, from Fabulous Showers to Intimate Gatherings, photographs by Ben Fink, Clarkson Potter (New York, NY), 2007
• (With Elisa Strauss) Confetti Cakes for Kids: Delightful Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famous Bakery, photographs by Ben Fink, Little, Brown and Company (New York, NY), 2008
• (With Frank McClelland) Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus, Harvard Common Press (Boston, MA), 2008
• Gale Gand’s Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend’s Best Meal, Clarkson Potter Publishers (New York, NY), 2009
• Salty Sweets: Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats with a Sublime Kiss of Salt, Harvard Common Press (Boston, MA), 2010
• (With Joanne Chang) Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe, photographs by Keller + Keller, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2010
• Cake Simple: Recipes for Bundt-Style Cakes from Classic Dark Chocolate to Luscious Lemon-Basil, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2011
• Gale Gand’s Lunch!, photographs by Ben Fink, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Boston, MA), 2014
• OTHER
• Forest, Princeton Architectural Press (New York, NY), 2024

Contributor to periodicals, including Glamour, Fitness, Shape, Yoga Journal, Cooking Light, and Yankee.

SIDELIGHTS

Christie Matheson is the author and illustrator of a series of interactive picture books, for children ages four to eight, as well as a pair of middle-grade novels. Many of her picture books have been translated into various languages. Her picture books, which include Bird Watch and The Hidden Rainbow, simulate the results of children’s actions, such as touching or tapping a picture, by turning the page to a new illustration. A Kirkus Reviews contributor observed that “the illusion of interactivity exercises a reader’s imagination in ways that digital media do not.” Middle schoolers deal with challenges big and small in her novels Shelter and Select. As a food writer, Matheson frequently collaborates with others on cookbooks and food-related works, including The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery.

In Tap the Magic Tree, children are encouraged to interact with an apple tree to help it through its life stages throughout the seasons. In the first picture, for example, the tree is shown bare of leaves and with its branches spread to the sky. A narrator encourages children to tap the tree once and turn the page. When they do, they see a new illustration that shows leaves growing on the tree. Readers are asked to take more actions, such as rubbing the tree to make it warm, which produces buds. The tree cycles through the growing of apples, the falling of leaves, and the coming of snow in winter, all aided by the young readers who interact with the story. Meg Smith, writing in School Library Journal, remarked, “The subtle shifts of the seasons capture a tree that is simply a treasure to behold.” Booklist reviewer Lolly Gepson called the book “totally satisfying.”

Two more books from Matheson follow a similar pattern of reader action and result. Touch the Brightest Star gives children the chance to explore the nighttime and the creatures and objects that come out after the sun goes down. Readers can touch a firefly, make a wish on a star, whisper to the moon, and call for the owls to come out. “This is a quiet paean to the beauty and mystery of night” Gepson stated in another Booklist review. Susan Dove Lempke, in a Horn Book review, noted, “this exploration of the world at night should be inviting to even the very youngest children.” Plant the Tiny Seed offers an interactive adventure in gardening and growing flower plants.

In Bird Watch, a seek-and-find book, Matheson “urges readers to observe the natural world with wide-open senses,” in the words of a Publishers Weekly contributor. Young audiences are invited to locate a variety of feathered creatures, including chickadees, warblers, wrens, doves, and hawks, hidden in Matheson’s watercolor and collage illustrations. An afterword contains additional information about each bird, providing information about their diet, habitats, and migration patterns. According to School Library Journal critic Eva Elisabeth Von Ancken, Matheson’s “gentle text offers consistent encouragement” to children as they search through the pictures. A writer in Kirkus Reviews applauded the “carefully painted images, which are a good combination of reasonably realistic and satisfyingly challenging.”

The Hidden Rainbow was described as an “engaging concept book” by Maryann H. Owen inSchool Library Journal. As young readers follow a host of busy bees that visit a garden, they learn about the colors of rainbow, bee biology and behaviors, and garden ecosystems. Audiences are directed to perform a simple task—brushing snow off a blossom, blowing a kiss to a lilac tree—before turning each page. “The watercolor-and-collage illustrations deftly support the text,” a Kirkus Reviews critic observed, and Booklist contributor Shelle Rosenfeld noted that Matheson’s “cheerful, reader-directed prose injects a playfulness … to this bouncy lesson on pollination.”

Tackling a more serious theme, Matheson turned to middle-school audiences in writing Shelter. Ten-year-old Maya’s days are more difficult than most of her classmates at her San Francisco private school, where her mother used to teach. When her father was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike, his prolonged and expensive hospital stay led to Maya and her mother and sister moving into a homeless shelter. Maya takes a long bus ride to school, hides her situation from best friend and teachers alike, and manages to stay resilient. Prior to writing the book, Matheson teamed up with her daughter to volunteer at a local homeless shelter.

In School Library Journal, Kate Fleming found that the “authentic” details—like morning hunger pangs, raincoat-less rainy days, an all-too-practical braid, and a backpack rendered invaluable—make Maya’s circumstances “stark and real.” Appreciating how Maya’s pride shines through, Fleming concluded: “By turns heartbreaking and affirming, this novel reminds readers what is most important—and what we often take for granted.” A Kirkus Reviews writer hailed Maya as “bright, self-conscious, and affectionate” and a “credible and appealing tour guide to living on the edge.” The reviewer affirmed that Shelter “brings a pressing national crisis into clear focus for young readers.”

Soccer fields are the pivotal setting in Select, which finds twelve-year-old narrator Alex singled out for a spot on San Francisco Select Superior, a competitive travel team. Having thrived under supportive local coach Jayda, Alex falters under the weight of Coach Austin’s intense practices and harsh methods. Meanwhile Alex must navigate public transit on her own, sometimes watch seven-year-old sister Belle, and compete with her mother’s demanding boyfriend for her attention. With Coach Austin’s pressure tactics tending toward misogyny, a Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated how Alex’s “strong sense of justice prevails over his bullying in a believable confrontation and resolution.” The writer found Alex’s voice “appealing, honest, and assured” and hailed Select as a “tale of terrific girl power and athleticism.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer found the soccer scenes “brisk and informative” and the denouement “emotionally satisfying.” The reviewer hailed Select as a “quickly paced, empowering contemporary novel about girls’ soccer and self-advocacy” that “exudes resilience and hope.”

(open new)Mamas and Babies considers the various ways the mother animals care for their young. An elephant bathes her baby with her trunk, a wolf spider carries hundreds of her recently hatched babies on her back, and a swan teaches hers how to swim. A Kirkus Reviews contributor said that the picture book is “a sweet intro to many animal species and a winner for baby-obsessed youngsters.”

A Mischief of Mice offers a mystery story line while teaching young readers about the proper use of collective nouns for animals. The book covers a range of animal groups, from a scurry of squirrels and sleuth of bears to a gaze of raccoons and a skulk of foxes. Squirrels question what happened to a local mischief of mice, while also blaming other animals for their disappearance. The bears start sleuthing around to find out what happened to them.

Booklist contributor Shelle Rosenfeld remarked that “vibrant prose and pacing enhance the suspenseful and shivery–though not too scary–elements.” Rosenfeld called the mystery aspect of the story to be “refreshing.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded: “Give a collective cheer for this tale that will charm kids while imparting fun facts.”

With One Light, a lonely mouse lights a lantern she made at school after the town loses electricity during a storm. Sam sees the lit lantern and lets go of his worries for a moment. Everyone who notices the single lit lantern goes home and lights their own light to ward of the darkness. A Kirkus Reviews contributor found the picture book to be “warmly reassuring.”(close new)

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

• Booklist, February 15, 2008, Pamela Crossland, review of Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style, p. 27; October 15, 2013, Lolly Gepson, review of Tap the Magic Tree, p. 56; February 1, 2014, Barbara Jacobs, review of Gale Gand’s Lunch!, p. 8; May 15, 2015, Lolly Gepson, review of Touch the Brightest Star, p. 59; December 1, 2018, Carolyn Phelan, review of Bird Watch, p. 52; March 1, 2020, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of The Hidden Rainbow, p. 51; June 1, 2024, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of A Mischief of Mice, p. 97.

• California Bookwatch, August 1, 2007, review of The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery; April 1, 2010, review of Salty Sweets: Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats with a Sublime Kiss of Salt.

• Horn Book, January 1, 2014, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Tap the Magic Tree, p. 76; May 1, 2015. Susan Dove Lempke, review of Touch the Brightest Star, p. 92.

• Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2013, review of Tap the Magic Tree; February 1, 2015, review of Touch the Brightest Star; November 1, 2016, review of Plant the Tiny Seed; December 1, 2018, review of Bird Watch; April 1, 2020, review of The Hidden Rainbow; September 1, 2021, review of Shelter; March 15, 2023, review of Select; January 1, 2024, review of Mamas and Babies; June 1, 2024, review of A Mischief of Mice; October 1, 2024, review of One Light.

• Library Journal, April 15, 2005, Judith Sutton, review of Vineyard Harvest, p. 114; June 1, 2007, Pauline Baughman, review of The Confetti Cakes Cookbook, p. 143; February 15, 2009, Judith Sutton, review of Gale Gand’s Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend’s Best Meal, p. 124; July, 2011, Bonnie Poquette, review of My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer, p. 99; February 15, 2014, Lisa Campbell, review of Gale Gand’s Lunch!, p. 124.

• Publishers Weekly, March 14, 2005, review of Vineyard Harvest, p. 61; September 15, 2008, review of Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus, p. 59; February 2, 2009, review of Gale Gand’s Brunch!, p. 46; October 10, 2011, review of My First Ladies; September 19, 2011, review of Cake Simple: Recipes for Bundt-Style Cakes from Classic Dark Chocolate to Luscious Lemon-Basil, p. 56; July 1, 2013, review of Tap the Magic Tree, p. 88; Apr. 21, 2014, review of Gale Gand’s Lunch!, p. 72; December 19, 2016, “How Does Your Garden Grow?,” review of Plant the Tiny Seed, p. 123; October 15, 2018, review of Bird Watch, p. 138; March 13, 2023, review of Select, p. 54.

• School Library Journal, August 1, 2013, Meg Smith, review of Tap the Magic Tree, p. 83; March 1, 2015, Lynn Van Auken, review of Touch the Brightest Star, p. 121; December 1, 2016, Kathy Piehl, review of Plant the Tiny Seed, p. 97; December 1, 2018, Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, review of Bird Watch, p. 89; June 1, 2020, Maryann H. Owen, review of The Hidden Rainbow, p. 51; September 1, 2021, Kate Fleming, review of Shelter, p. 91.

ONLINE

• Christie Matheson website, https://christiematheson.com (November 13, 2025).

• Green Prophet, https://www.greenprophet.com/ (March 29, 2008), James Murray-White, review of Green Chic.

• Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (July 13, 2020), Megan Labrise, “Christie Matheson: Making Kids Part of the Story.”