Spotlight: Aggie and the Ghost author & illustrator Matthew Forsythe!

Welcome to a very special post! Courtesy of the kind folks at Simon & Schuster, I had the terrific opportunity to interview acclaimed author, illustrator and animation designer Matthew Forsythe (and I also take a peak at his latest book!). You might be familiar with Forsythe’s previously published titles, Mina and Pokko and the Drum. Now the creator is back with a brilliant new picture book, Aggie and the Ghost, releasing on Tuesday, August 19th! Please read on for my interview with Matthew Forsythe, as well as my thoughts on Aggie and the Ghost. Happy reading!

Interview with Matthew Forsythe

Welcome to Fab Book Reviews, Matthew, what a sincere pleasure to host you for an interview!

• When thinking about your picture books, I keep returning to how each has such a
  singular, unforgettable protagonist. I am wondering about what typically comes first when you start approaching a new picture book: is it a general idea for a story; an imagined conflict; a character’s name; a sketch of a character; or is it always something different? And, how do you ultimately decide on the name of the main character? I think the laboratory for all illustrators is the sketchbook. So yes, all three of these characters came from my daily sketchbook. I’ll usually become attached to a character in my sketchbook and then I’ll marry that character with an emotional theme that’s running through me at the time. For Pokko that theme was the ripple effects of being an artist; for MINA it was uncomfortable truth that sometimes we are the parents to our parents; and for Aggie it was about how do we negotiate space – with our close friends and also with our own shadows.
• Even with its rainbow kaleidoscope of colours, the texture of Aggie and the Ghost reads
  more melancholy than your previous picture books- particularly due the stunning
  depictions of rainy weather and nighttime at Aggie’s house. How do you decide on your
  colour palettes for your picture books? Do your colour selections ever change during the
  process of working on a book? Yes, I hope when moments of colour break through, they are felt more strongly. Like the sun coming through in the corner of the walking scene. MINA was so full of saturated colours; I wanted to do something subtler. I also wanted to light Aggie with only natural light; no electricity. Perhaps that’s why we start the book with a candle. I wanted only Victorian chandeliers and candles and daylight to light the scenes. Like a proper ghost story.
• During a key moment in Aggie and the Ghost, the two lead characters challenge each other in a fierce duel of tic-tac-toe. I am curious about the decision in choosing tic-tac-toe: did you always have a plan for the characters to go head-to-head over a game? Was it always tic-tac-toe- seemingly simplistic yet also frustrating- or did that change over the course of time? This was stolen from The Seventh Seal. During the pandemic I watched all of Bergman’s films and I love the humour and high stakes of the knight playing chess with death. It’s also a strong metaphor for how we face our own ghosts. I had a story for a long time about a turtle and a heron who played chess for the turtle’s life; but I let a friend read it and they said they would never play chess. They would play tic tac toe. And it was so true. 
• Funny picture books- whether quietly funny, witty, or loudly silly- are, in my opinion, absolute gold. Multiple scenes in Aggie and the Ghost had me laughing (the scenes of the ghost wearing Aggie’s scarf had me cackling); Pokko and the Drum as well as Mina all have deliciously funny elements as well. How do you approach getting humour across in your picture books? How do you balance the perceived impact of visual versus written humour in writing and illustrating for a wide-range of ages? I think in picture books – and probably in any visual storytelling – the best humour is visual. If any kids or pre-literate audiences are being read to – they need to be in on the humour before anyone else; certainly before any adults. Hot take: Anyone who puts the jokes in the text is kind of stealing that moment from the kids.  
• If you could share anything- whether something unusual about the book’s creation, any behind the scenes tidbit, or something you particularly love about this story- with younger readers about Aggie and the Ghost, what would you like to share with them? I don’t know – a thing that took me a long time to learn is you can’t really make rules for other people. It doesn’t usually end up how we expect.
• In a battle of wills, who do you think would win: Pokko (from Pokko and the Drum), Mina (from Mina), or Aggie (from Aggie and the Ghost)? Mina. She’s a tough mouse! 
• Who are some picture book authors and illustrators whose work you have been charmed by or surprised by over the last few years? Do you have picture books (or books in general!) that you have thoroughly enjoyed so far in 2025? Love Bog Myrtle by Syd Sharp; love I am the Subway by Kim Hyo Eun; Little Wooden Robot by Tom Gauld; Fireworks by Catia Chien and Matthew Burgess. Currently reading: “Mutiny on the HMS Bounty” by William Bligh (so good!) 
• If you are able to, would you please be able to share any news about upcoming projects? And, do you think you may ever return to tell more stories about your existing picture book protagonists? Right now, I’m back at Warner Bros working as a designer on a new season of the animated show, Adventure Time. I worked on the original series ten years ago – so It’s super fun to be working on a team with old friends and new artists. Nice to take a break from the solitude of making books.  

Thank you so much for your generosity of time and care in answering questions for this interview, it has been a genuine honour. I cannot wait until more readers are able to meet and fall in love with Aggie and the Ghost! Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions!

Read on for my thoughts on Aggie and the Ghost…

Already the recipient of starred reviews from Booklist, Quill & Quire, and Publisher’s Weekly, Matthew Forsythe’s latest picture book, Aggie and the Ghost, is an utterly fantastic treat. Readers follow a protagonist named Aggie as she happily sets off to “live on her own”, only to find that her lovely new house is actually haunted by a solitary ghost. Now, Aggie is initially undeterred to give up living independently due to the ghost, but the thing is, the ghost just follows Aggie everywhere, and you can’t really live a life on your own if you constantly have a ghost by your side, can you? Aggie tries setting boundaries with rules, but things with the ghost keep escalating…What is Aggie to do when even a battle of wits and strategy can’t quite decide a winner and your ghost simply won’t listen? Without any spoilers here, I will say that Forsythe’s particular and distinctive voice, storytelling approach, and artwork is delightfully striking, bittersweet and funny here. Perfect for sharing as a read aloud, for a storytime, or for quiet reading time, Aggie and the Ghost is another outstanding picture book from Matthew Forsythe. Readers who have already enjoyed Forsythe’s writing and illustrative work should definitely add this title to their must-read; and readers who love the work of author and illustrators such Jon Klassen, Jess Hannigan, Bethan Woollvin, Esmé Shapiro or Mac Barnett might particularly adore Aggie and the Ghost.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing in exchange for an interview and for review purposes. All opinions and comments are my own. Title will be released on August 19th, 2025 from Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.