Just Because

by Matthew McConaughey, Renée Kurilla (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Paired with gorgeous art from Renée Kurilla, Matthew McConaughey's picture book debut Just Because will continue to spread the soulful gospel of Matthew to the youngest of readers. There's much to be gained by sitting down, taking a breath and enjoying a picture book. In fact, every child and adult should read at least one picture book a month. Why? Just Because.

The debut picture book by Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey

Just because I’m in the race,
doesn’t mean I’m fully ready.
Just because I’m shaking,
doesn’t mean that I’m not steady.

Have you ever felt worried and excited at the same time?

Have you ever had your feelings hurt but forgiven someone anyway?

Have you ever thought there was more than one right answer to a question?

That’s because contradictions are all around us. And they make us who we are.

Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.

Why? Just because.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593690796
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	8,154
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Matthew McConaughey is the Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Greenlights. He also created Greenlights: Your Journal, Your Journey, a guided companion that inspires readers to write down and reflect on their feelings, adventures, and dreams. Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. He is a professor of practice and a Minister of Culture for the University of Texas at Austin, where he lives with his wife and three children. Matthew is a storyteller, a tree house builder, and a pickle expert. You can visit Matthew on Instagram @OfficiallyMcConaughey or on Twitter @McConaughey.

Renée Kurilla is the author and illustrator of many books for young readers. She has a BFA in illustration and a minor in graphic design from Lesley University College of Art and Design. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, daughter, and a fish named Yoshi. You can visit Renée at Kurillastration.com or on Instagram and Twitter @ReneeKurilla.

Editorial Reviews

"Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes." —Kirkus Reviews

"The homespun homilies effectively communicate that everyone’s a complex being trying their best, that things move on—and that life can be alright, alright, alright." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

07/10/2023

In his picture book debut, actor McConaughey offers up some folksy wisdom about life’s often contradictory nature. Tracing moments of kindness and hurt, clarity and befuddlement, and achievement and catastrophe, a series of short, rhyming assertions begin “Just because...” paired with the rejoinder “doesn’t mean....” In one vignette, a child snatches a ball from another, and the narrator notes, “Just because you’re a bully,/ doesn’t mean that you’re strong”; directly below, the aggressor, now hit with remorse, realizes that “Just because it felt right then,/ doesn’t mean it won’t feel wrong.” Variably saturated, digitally cartooned vignettes by Kurilla (One Springy, Singy Day!) show kids of various abilities and skin tones engaging in everyday life—baths and meals, parties and hangs. Some of the messaging doesn’t quite land (“Just because a hand is clenched,/ doesn’t mean that it’s a fist,” feels at odds with an image about surprise gift giving), and a little of the parallel phrasing goes a long way, but the homespun homilies effectively communicate that everyone’s a complex being trying their best, that things move on—and that life can be alright, alright, alright. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Matthew Elblonk, DeFiore & Co. Illustrator’s agent: Jen Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2023-06-08
Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.

The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews