Kevin O'Malley has a wild sense of humor that shines in his books and presentations. Originally trained as an illustrator, Kevin made his authorial debut in 1992 with Froggy Went A-Courting, based on a well-known folk ballad (a form that provides much of his inspiration). Kevin said that when he first heard the song, he didn't know what the term "carding" meant. In his mind it conjured up a card game, so that's the spin he put on the story. Froggy is a notorious gangster gambler, and Miss Mousie, his bride-to-be, an owner of a posh gambling nightclub. Needless to say, madcap action ensues.
Since then Kevin has continued to express himself in his books. His works have included tales of a rhinoceros losing his homework, a jewel theft, and a quest to ride a roller coaster. His latest books range from nonfiction to raucous humor, with everything in between. He has always loved drawing and shares his enthusiasm for the medium with his talks with kids in schools. Kevin lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his artist wife and two sons.
Selected Reviews of Kevin O'Malley's Books
Once upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude
Written and illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
Additional illustrations by Carol Heyer and Scott Goto
A trio--author and illustrators--speculate on the results when a typical, or perhaps stereotypical, girl and boy have to work together to tell their favorite fairy tale for a library project. The girl begins her “once upon a time” with beautiful Princess Tenderheart and her eight beautiful ponies. A giant begins to steal her ponies, to her despair, until only her favorite is left. Here her co-author, who has been commenting all along with disdain, takes up the tale by introducing a “cool muscle dude” on a motorcycle. Since the princess can spin straw into gold, the dude will guard the pony for gold. The encounter of the dude and the giant is “huge.” The boy ends his part here with the dude winning. But the girl takes up the tale again. The princess becomes a warrior and fights the giant herself. The boy and girl then alternate conclusions up to the amusing finale. Each of the three illustrators uses a different style on the double pages for their strand of the story. O’Malley’s arguing pair are sketchily cartooned in pen and ink and digital color; Heyer’s princess and ponies are slickly realistic acrylics; Goto’s acrylic and oil paint muscular super-hero and giant are almost out of computer-game land. Each strand employs a typeface with qualities that complement the style of painting. The result is humorous both in the exaggerated narrative and in the juxtaposition of visual expressions. Lots of room for discussing stereotypes as well. 2005, Walker & Company, $16.95. Ages 6 to 10. Reviewers: Ken and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates
Kevin O'Malley, Illustrated by Patrick O'Brien
After space pirates attack and steal the Jewels of Jurassica, Captain Raptor and his talented crew board the starship Megatooth to chase them. Blasted by the pirate ship, the Megatooth crash lands on a strange, uncharted moon. There, they encounter Scalawag, who claims he was left there by pirates, but offers to repair the ship. On his advice, they start back to Jurassica. On the way, they are attacked by a ferocious Robokron and saved by bold Captain Raptor. Back near Jurassica, as they battle the pirates, Scalawag shuttles back to the pirate ship and threatens to blast them. But clever Captain Raptor has booby-trapped Scalawag’s shuttle. It blows up, the treasure is recovered, Scalawag is imprisoned, and the indomitable Captain is off on another adventure in the series. O’Brien exploits the popularity of dinosaurs to create dozens of anthropomorphic characters, good and evil, who are put in landscapes and star-studded outer space to do battle with jazzy space ships. Rectangles of varying sizes show brief text against white backgrounds and pace the action of this graphic narrative, increasing the suspense until the double-page action scene involving the snake-like Robokron. The artist uses lots of dark watercolors and gouache to generate the melodramatic, other-world atmosphere. Action galore. 2007, Walker & Company, $16.95. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewers: Ken and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share
Kevin O'Malley
In a zany text filled with pun-ny fun, Chicken and his friend George set off to find the barn in Chicken’s dream, where a treasure of cracked corn is buried under a pink pig. On their way, they exchange such gems as crossing the road to a playground “to get to the other slide,” and when threatened by a cat, “make like an egg on a hill&133; ROLL.” They reach the barn and find the pig, who dismisses their dream but tells one of his own. This inspires Chicken to go back home and dig there. The ending is indeed “Egg-stra-ordinary!” And “corny.” There is considerably “egg-stra” fun contributed by O’Malley’s finely-textured black ink drawings scanned and colored in Photoshop. Naturalistic settings contrast with the comic pair of fowls and their barnyard friends. The brief text is set in framed boxes, but the punch lines are delivered in heavily outlined speech balloons in a very bold typeface. The dancing corn ears on the cover and sailing across the end-pages only hint at the fun inside. 2007, Walker & Company, $16.95. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewers: Ken and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
School Visits
Kevin's school visits are lively affairs that have drawn him comparisons to Robin Williams. His goal goal is to make everyone in the room laugh. He first explains how he got started in illustration and children's books. Then he leads a group re-telling of a fairy tale or folktale, complete with Kevin drawing the story on oversized paper. Kevin's visits are geared mostly for grades K-6 (although other grades can be accommodated) and he can do up to four presentations of around one hour per day, with each presentation aimed at a different age group.
Fees: For a full day of four sessions the price is $1900. If airfare and overnight accomodations are necessary the school is responsible for those costs.
To learn more about Kevin O'Malley and his publications please visit www.booksbyomalley.com.
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