Mattie’s Magic Charms the World

Jan 18, 2002 - Eleven year-old published poet, IAFF hero and Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2002 National Goodwill Ambassador Mattie Stepanek has captivated the world with his wisdom and knowledge. He has gained celebrity status at a very young age by authoring two of the biggest best selling poetry books of year 2001, “HeartSongs” and “Journey Through HeartSongs.”

Just like the list of Mattie’s accomplishments, his tremendous love, respect and admiration for his “heroes” has soared since Sept. 11. “Fire Fighters were true heroes. Even in the smoke of the fires, we could see clearly why the USA is called the home of the brave -- look at all the members of the New York Fire Department who put their duty and other peoples' lives first,” said Mattie in his heartfelt letter to fire fighters.

“I have always admired Mattie for his courage, intellect and fire fighters like passion to battle the odds and emerge victorious,” said IAFF General President and MDA Vice President Harold Schaitberger. “I am proud to call Mattie a friend. He has wisdom beyond his years and an understanding of the preciousness of life that is quite remarkable. “His achievements have fire fighters proud of their association with Mattie and with the MDA.”

Mattie's philosophy has not only charmed readers his age, but has also attracted attention from popular TV shows like Oprah Winfrey and Good Morning America. He even met his all-time inspiration and favorite person, President Jimmy Carter, on one of the episodes of Good Morning America on ABC.

VSP Books of Virginia tried to cheer-up an ailing Mattie and granted one of his wishes by publishing 200 copies of Heartsong in 2001. Since then, demand has overtaken supply and VSP Books has already printed more than 500,000 copies of Mattie’s book. VSP is offering a 30 percent discount to all the IAFF members who order books through VSP book’s web site at www.vspbooks.com . “We have received tremendous response from fire fighters who want Mattie’s book,” said Publisher of VSP Books Cheryl Barnes. “It is in the spirit of the special relationship they have always shared with Mattie and MDA.”

Disney-owned Hyperion is partnering with VSP Books of Virginia to co-publish a series of books by our best-selling poet. Hyperion will assume the marketing, printing, and distribution of Heartsongs and Journey Through Heartsongs. Hyperion and VSP will co-publish three additional books this year co-branded under the name of both publishing companies.

The pages of Journey Through HeartSongs are decked with Mattie’s illustrations and his simple poems of life and dreams. His next mission is to publish a volume of essays and stories and give inspirational speeches to furthur the cause of MDA.

Mattie is a gifted child. He has been reading and writing since he was 3 years old. His favorite poets are Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Emily Dickenson. Mattie’s works published in Journey Through HeartSongs were all written between age 3 and 7. At age 11, he is studying 10-11th grade work at home and has earned junior black belt in martial arts.

Mattie suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy and is relentlessly fighting with his disease. His mother, Jeni, also has the same disease, which she discovered after she had four children. The dreadful ailment has already taken lives of his siblings but Mattie battles on.