Vikram's Blog - Vikram Madan - Artist & Author

[Bringing joy to the world since 2014]

ZOONI TALES Now Available

10/10/2023

My graphic-novel-in-rhyme, ZOONI TALES: KEEP IT UP, PLUCKY PUP is now available everywhere books are sold!

ZOONI TALES is about the adventures of an adorable pup named ZOONI. The book contains 3 stories and 2 mini-comics. What differentiates this book from every other graphic novel out there is that it is written entirely IN RHYME

Academic research about graphic novels clearly demonstrates that graphic novels help jumpstart visual literacy in kids, which in turn makes them better problem solvers in life. By combining the graphic novel format with rhyme, I am hoping to introduce more kids to poetry. Poetry, in turn, helps kids understand and express complex ideas, feelings, and experiences, and helps build foundational literacy skills. (So parents, while kids will read this book for the fun of it, behind the scenes, it will be accentuating their literacy skills. :) )

This 96-page book, available in both paperback and hardcover format, is targeted for ages 5-10. You can purchase it from all physical and online bookstores.

This book has been inspired by my covid-puppy Zooni. Stay tuned to learn more about that back story.

ALA and the Geisel Honor

7/10/2023

To receive my Geisel Honor Award from the American Library Association (ALA), I went to Chicago to the ALA 2023 Conference, a large event attended by over 16,000 people including librarians, publishers, authors, library tech companies, and others. At this conference I went to dinner with the honorable Geisel Selection Committee, met numerous authors (and got signed books from them), met tons of publishing people including agents, editors, publicists, marketing specialists and more, attended the grand Newbery + Caldecott Dinner gala, did a panel presentation, did multiple book signings, and of course, received my Geisel Honor Award in person.
(For those who came in late, my book OWL & PENGUIN received a 2023 Geisel Honor Award from the ALA, given to less than 5 books every year, and awarded only to "the most distinguished American books for beginning readers". Awards like the Newbery, Caldecott, and Geisel are the equivalent of the Oscars for kids books!)
Here are some photos from this event:

ABA Children's Institute 2023

7/10/2023

I was invited to attend the American Bookseller's Association's Annual Children's Institute event in Milwaukee where I got to meet lots of booksellers and introduce them to my upcoming graphic novel series 'ZOONI TALES' and give them signed Advanced Reader Copies (aka ARCs). Here are some photos:

Fay Kaigler Festival Keynote

7/10/2023

Recently I had the honor of being invited to give a keynote speech at the Fay Kaigler Children's Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi. Sharing some photos!

Owl & Penguin Book #2 Now Available

7/3/2023

Attention World! The second book in my award-winning OWL & PENGUIN series , titled BEST DAY EVER, is now available - look for it everywhere books are sold.

OwL & PENGUIN is a starter graphic novel for emerging readers Ages 3-8, including pre-readers, struggling readers, ESL readers, and beginning readers.

The stories are told visually with minimal sight-reading words. The combination of words and images helps develop visual literacy skills, which are a precursor for developing critical thinking skills.

Start your young readers with this series.

The Making of OWL & PENGUIN

5/17/2023

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:

An interview with the Seattle Times

3/16/2023

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/

OWL & PENGUIN is a ALA 2023 Notable "best of the best" Book

2/6/2023

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected OWL & PENGUIN for another honor - naming it to their 2023 Notable Children's Book list.

"Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways."

Look for OWL & PENGUIN everywhere books are sold!

OWL & PENGUIN is a THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL HONOR Winner!!!

1/30/2023

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!

BOBO & PUP-PUP: HATCH AN EGG!!

1/29/2023

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!

HATFUL OF DRAGONS - Now Available in India

1/2/2023

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 :)

Teaching Guide to 'A HATFUL OF DRAGONS'

12/25/2022

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.

HATFUL OF DRAGONS is a South Dakota Prairie Bloom Book Award Finalist!!!

11/24/2022

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! :)

School Library Journal Review for OWL & PENGUIN

10/24/2022

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."

Happy Book Birthday to THE FUNNY BOOK

10/18/2022

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.