Jack & Leila and their (non-Octo)puppies

Congratulations to Jack and Leila who, with the help of Jarvis and Edgar from The Octopuppy, are now engaged to be married! Jack asked me to create an Octopuppy-style portrait of himself and Leila, who I'm delighted to say is a big fan of the book, to assist with his proposal. Here are the results.

Le Prix des Incorruptibles - Winner!

In the latest not-remotely-up-to-date news, I'm delighted to announce that The Octopuppy has been awarded the French literary prize Les Incorruptibles.

A national competition that runs every year in which children vote for their favourite picture book, it's one of the most famous awards in France for children’s literature, so this is really nice news.

The French edition of The Octopuppy is published by Editions Père Fouettard as Entre Chien et Poulpe

El pop mascota

Here's a look at the Catalan edition of The Octopuppy published by Barcanova Editorial. It's a good-looking edition with nice waxy matte covers!  It can be found on their site.

El pulpo-mascota

The 8th of October is of course International Octopuppy Day. As well as all the many amazing events taking place globally around the world in many countries, I thought I'd mark this special day here with a photo of some copies of the Spanish language edition of The Octopuppy, published by Anaya.  It can be found on their site.

Happy International Octopuppy Day.

Octopuppy & Crocodolly in China

The Octopuppy and The Crocodolly are being published in China by CITIC Press, and I've just received copies of the Simplified Chinese Character editions in hardback.  Here are some photos.  The publisher really has done a great job on these books, I think they might be my favourite editions so far; they're beautifully produced!

Flying Up from Rio

Fresh in today, copies of the Portugese edition of The Octopuppy, translated by Janice Florido and published in Brazil by Editora Saber e Ler, which is available now on their site.

It's a really nice looking edition!

Entre Chien et Poulpe

These copies of Entre Chien et Poulpe, the French edition of The Octopuppy published by Éditions Père Fouettard, arrived the other day.

The French version misses out on one or two pieces of artwork from the English language editions, so for readers in France here they are:

Jarvis the Octopuppy does Elvis

Half-title

Jarvis & Edgar dance away at the end

The book is available at Amazon France, and at La Cabane de Suzon.

Cache-cache caïman

et voilà! The Crocodolly has been released in France as Cache-cache caïman, translated by Laura Derajinski and published in hardback by Éditions Père Fouettard. Here's a link to their site. Also a link to Amazon.fr, where the book is now available.

Éditions Père Fouettard

Amazon.fr

Ogle Elementary

Excellent work here from Ms. Elliott’s kindergarten class, when they had fun reading about The Octopuppy at Ogle Elementary Library in McKinney, Texas.

Check out their page for lots of amazing octopus vids and other fun stuff.

Crocodile in a fish pond

A reminder to remind you, if you needed reminding, that The Crocodolly is available worldwide with free shipping from Fishpond.com

The service Fishpond offer is excellent, with speedy delivery.

Le Prix des Incorruptibles

I'm thrilled to pass on the exciting news that the French edition of The Octopuppy, published by Editions Père Fouettard as Entre Chien et Poulpe, has been short-listed for the French literary prize Les Incorruptibles.  It's a competition that runs every school year, in which children vote for their favourite picture book from a short-list of five. The Octopuppy has made the short-list for 2016-17 and the winner will be announced in June 2017.  It's one of the most famous awards in France for children’s literature, so this is lovely news.

Entre Chien et Poulpe @ Amazon.fr

Easter egg

An eggy bit from The Crocodolly.  Happy Easter!

Octopuppy on stage

Here are some photos of a theatrical production of The Octopuppy which looks like fun, staged at the Jornada literary event in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The event took place last year, but I've only just found out about it (all the latest hot news here, folks). I particularly like the design of Jarvis the Octopuppy, made from a novelty hat with tinsel tentacles.

The Octopuppy is published in Brazil by Editora Saber e Ler.

Happy New Year

Last chance today to enter the Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a copy of The Crocodolly.

Enter the giveaway right HERE

WIN! A copy of The Crocodolly!

Between now and January 1st you can enter the Goodreads giveaway to win a first edition hardback copy of The Crocodolly! Signed by me unless you really insist that I don't.

Enter the giveaway HERE

What they've been saying ...

"This quirky book is a delight - surprising, hilarious and brilliantly executed from the front cover to the very back. British author/illustrator McKenna has perfectly matched flamboyant illustrations to the understated text and absurd story to delight young and old.  It is a joy and pleasure to come across a book that is fresh and funny and has so much to offer. It kept me hooked right to the perfect end!" -- Creative Kids Tales

"From the creative genius who gave us The Octopuppy, we now have The Crocodolly! I laughed through every page of this book. The minimal text lets the images do the talking, and the illustrations are simply sublime. The scenes, the expressions, the little details - all perfect. Even the endpapers are worth close inspection. Martin McKenna is now on my list of favourite authors. I like the way his mind works!" -- Kids Book Review

"Highly recommended. The story of Adelaide making sure that Ozzy's skills are put to good use is a delight and the digital illustrations certainly set the scene adding a level of brilliance to the tale. The images of Ozzy in the doll clothes are priceless and those of Adelaide trying vainly to fit in with her friends and their dolls most amusing. Readers will love Adelaide and her attempts at fitting in and will applaud her problem-solving skills at the end. A crocodile frocking up! What fun." -- Read Plus

"The Crocodolly by Martin McKenna is a fabulous book! The children absolutely love the story, but I just adore the underlying message. I would suggest this as a must read for little girls, but don’t stop at reading it to your girls. My boys loved this book, and let’s be real here. Not only do we want to raise strong females that smash stereotypes, we need to be raising young men who have a multi-dimensional view of genders and don’t box males or females into narrowly prescribed gender based roles."-- Caitlin's Happy Heart

 "A very mirthful picture book that is sure to entertain young readers with its comical plot and its endearing characters. A most entertaining book." -- Children's Book Council of Australia

"This bright, glossy, loud story, full of off-beat humour is great fun. The illustrations of the trail of destruction left by Ozzy the crocodile give subtle clues as to how Adelaide’s problem will eventually be solved. Young readers will enjoy the exploits of Adelaide as Ozzy stomps, squishes and rolls his way through the book." -- Buzz Words Magazine

One of these could be yours.