Hear all about it in this youtube recording of my conversation with my editor about the Making of OWL & PENGUIN:
Ten years ago I spilled some oil paint, and like the butterfly that spawns a tornado, that oil-paint spill triggered a decade-long cascade of events that culminated in my Geisel Honor book OWL & PENGUIN. Hear all about it in this youtube recording of my conversation with my editor about the Making of OWL & PENGUIN:
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My local paper, the Seattle Times, interviewed me about many, many topics. Read it here:
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/award-winning-seattle-artist-vikram-madan-on-owl-and-penguin-and-choosing-creativity/
![]() Whoa! OWL & PENGUIN is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book. Every year the American Library Association committees sift through thousands of books to identify the 4 or 5 they believe to be "the most distinguished American books for beginning readers". After the Newberry and the Caldecott, the Geisel is one of the biggest book awards for children's literature, kinda like an Oscar for Beginning Readers. [ Receiving a Geisel Honor is like being 'Oscar Nominated' :) ] It's humbling to think that of all the hundreds of beginning reader books published in 2022, Owl & Penguin was selected as one of the top 5 books considered the "most distinguished American books for beginning readers." Whoa! :) About the award: "The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. The winner(s), recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading, receives a bronze medal. Honor Book authors and illustrators receive certificates, which are presented at the ALA Annual Conference. The award was established in 2004 and first presented in 2006. The award is named for the world-renowned children’s author, Theodor Geisel. "A person’s a person no matter how small," Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. "Children want the same things we want: to laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted." Brilliant and playful, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped them to read." Thank you to my editor Sally Morgridge, my publisher Holiday House books, my agent Rosemary Stimola, the American Library Association, the Geisel Award committee, and the my writing group - the Tighty-Writeys! AVAILABLE NOW: The 4th book in my Bobo & Pup-Pup series of Easy Reader Graphic Chapter books for early readers, illustrated by NYT-Bestselling Illustrator Nicola Slater.
Bobo & Pup-Pup find something that they think is an egg, and then they try to hatch it. But is it really an egg? Will it hatch? What will come out if it does? Readers are in on the joke as the two friends go to increasing lengths to hatch their "egg". Look for this book everywhere books are sold! Appropriate for ages 4-8 and can be read to 2-3 year olds too! A HATFUL OF DRAGONS is now available in a modestly priced (Rupees 299/-) paperback indian edition, published by HarperCollins India. It is available everywhere books are sold in India - both online and in bookstores. Please tell your Indian friends and family! Finally I am an internationally published author :)
![]() Here is a free download of an educator's guide to 'A HATFUL OF DRAGONS' showing how to use this book to spur creativity, comprehension, and help kids develop poetry and critical reading skills. Click this link to download the guide PDF file. This is a great resource for teachers, parents, and educators. Learn more about the book here. Thrilled to learn A HATFUL OF DRAGONS is a finalist for the South Dakota Prairie Bloom Book Awards (for Grades 2-3). Awards like these encourage kids to read a lot of books, and anything that makes kids read more poetry is just fine by me, thankyouvermuch! :)
![]() Thank you School Library Journal for a lovely review of OWL & PENGUIN: "Debuting with an exercise in adorable empathy, Owl & Penguin make a breezy foray into the tradition of supportive picture book friendships. Faced with challenges... they strive to make things better for each other through pleasant plotting. Madan's brightly-colored illustrations of the boggle-eyed buddies add to the goofy fun for tenuous young readers. Owl & Penguin's conversation occurs primarily in the for of speech bubbles and empathetic facial expressions, with light narration in panel captions... As an opportunity for early readers and caregivers to discuss problem-solving and feelings with copious visual clues, this title is the perfect tool. VERDICT: Cute and cheery, this graphic novel for early readers is a functional, fun read-together." The third book in the BOBO & PUP-PUP Graphic Early Reader Series, THE FUNNY BOOK, is now available everywhere books are sold.
Illustrated by Nicola Slater, and published by Random House Books for Kids. Synopsis: A super funny book has Pup-Pup literally laughing out loud!! Bobo wants to read it so he can laugh too, but he must wait till Pup-Pup is finished. But the more Pup-Pup laughs, the harder it is to wait! All kids know that waiting is not easy!! What happens when Bobo's patience runs out and he takes matters into his own hands? Learn more, see inside pages, and find 'buy' links here. |
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