Pennsbury Fourth Grader & High School Illustrator Release Children’s Book

Two Pennsbury School District students teamed up to release a children’s book inspired by the true life story of U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Stewart.

Matthew Sherman, a nine-year-old fourth-grade student at Afton Elementary School, is a die-hard hockey fan, and now the first-time published author of “A Magical Christmas for Paul Stewart.”

His journey towards published-author status began about a year ago when Sherman heard a story on NPR about hockey legend Stewart and how he was gifted his first pair of hockey skates – ones he loves so much he took everywhere.

The story sparked Matthew’s imagination and from that inspiration (and with Stewart’s blessing), he wrote a book. He wanted to share with everyone the wonder of skating and the joy of playing hockey. The words he had written told Stewy’s story – but they needed more.

In search of an illustrator that would do justice to the story, Matthew’s mother contacted the art department at Pennsbury High School for a recommendation. Teacher Tony Napoli was direct: district high schooler Chloe Mako was the best person for this job. He was correct. An extraordinary portrait artist, Chloe had the vision and the skill to pare down her work to create a more juvenile series of watercolor illustrations.

With her first set of sketches, Matthew was confident he had picked the right partner. The unlikely duo had regular meetings at the Starbucks on Main Street in Yardley and would together pore over the story to create their joint vision for the book.

“A Magical Christmas for Paul Stewart” tells a timeless story through the eyes of a child. Young Paul watches as his father coaches the high school hockey team, and dreams of becoming a hockey player, too. As the son of a schoolteacher, though, and with three siblings, money is tight, so Paul learns to skate in his sister’s old, beat up white figure skates. One day, shortly before Christmas, the kindly Mr. Bishop from the skate shop asks Paul for a favor: he is shopping for new hockey skates for his nephew who just happens to be about the same size as Paul. Together they find the perfect pair, only to have to put them back into the box for another child to enjoy. Christmas morning arrives and Santa has brought Paul a very special surprise—and that is the gift that launched a Hall-of-Fame career and a lifelong love of hockey.

Matthew wanted to share more than just the story, however. He is donating a portion of the proceeds from his book sales to the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, as well as Ice Hockey in Harlem. Both charities help give opportunities to learn to play hockey to children who might otherwise not have that opportunity.

“As a fellow author – and even more so a fellow skater – I feel that Matthew Sherman’s efforts to bring to his peers my story of my first pair of ‘magical skates’ is heartwarming,” Stewart said. “I am especially thrilled that they have allocated a portion of the proceeds to benefit other children who have yet to feel the joy of putting on a pair of skates and making their way around the ice. To me, that is the essence of the holiday spirit—the joy of giving to others and the magic of receiving something completely unexpected that can change your life.”

Stewart will present his own spin on the story in an upcoming autobiography, “Ya Wanna Go?,” due to be released this November.

The final pages of “A Magical Christmas for Paul Stewart” quote “In Flanders Fields,” a World War I poem that appears in part in the locker room of the Montreal Canadiens: “To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.”

Stewart has passed the torch; Chloe and Matthew have done their part to carry high the flame of holiday spirit.

Copies of the book can be order on Amazon or at local bookstores.