Meet the author

Matthew Gray Gubler.

Writer & illustrator · United States · b. 1980

Matthew Gray Gubler: the Criminal Minds actor turned author-illustrator whose scribbly, tender fables Rumple Buttercup and The Little Kid With the Big Green Hand celebrate being wonderfully, unapologetically yourself.

Matthew Gray Gubler is an American actor, best known for playing Dr Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds, who has become a distinctive author-illustrator of offbeat, warm-hearted picture books. His debut Rumple Buttercup, hand-lettered and illustrated in his own scribbly style, is a gentle fable about a green monster who hides away because he feels too different, until he learns that nobody minds. The Little Kid With the Big Green Hand carries the same dreamy, surreal spirit into the story of a girl and her talking hand. Both celebrate individuality, belonging and the courage to let yourself be seen, wrapped in playful artwork and a quietly funny voice. Reassuring reads for any child who has ever felt like the odd one out.