Hamster Sam takes Bronze Medal in Moonbeam Children's Book Awards!

I am thrilled to announce that "The Secret Adventures of Hamster Sam: Attack of the Evil Boll Weevils!" has just been honored with a Bronze Medal in the 2008 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, in the category of comic/graphic novel. I am especially excited, as this is my first book. Here is a quote from the national press release:
"This year’s award-winning books present a diverse range of subjects and formats, and the winning publishers are widely dispersed geographically. Moonbeam medals were awarded to authors and publishers from 30 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, and four countries overseas. The cause of promoting childhood literacy knows no boundaries, and the award winners illustrate that point well, coming not only from long-established publishers and university presses, but from small presses, foundations, museums, and self-published entrepreneurs."
There were over 1,000 entries in 31 categories this year. To learn more about the award winners and the organization that presents the awards, please visit this web address:
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250
All of the medal winning books from the awards will be on display during the American Library Association's Conference in Denver this coming January. This will be great in terms of exposure for the book. Promotion and publicity like this are vital for book producers like myself to gain a larger audience. Hurray for Hamster Sam!

Teen Program

In keeping with the "Cartooning Programs" theme, I wanted to share some pics from a summer teen program I did in Florence, SC at the beautiful new public library (hint: don't walk on the grass!). Teen Librarian Julie Vaught and crew were forced to stop the program briefly to set up additional tables and chairs for the parade of teens who were flooding in to join the fun. There really was no difference in the amount of enthusiasm shown by a group of teens, compared to my elementary school crowds. Clearly, comics have captivated this normally restless age group, as you could hear a pin drop throughout the program. The one thing that I did notice with teens is that some of them already have a clearly defined drawing style, and have their own characters they have been working on.

Cartooning Programs!

I had a blast this summer presenting cartooning programs in schools, museums and shown here; libraries. Imaginon in Uptown Charlotte is the result of the combined forces of the Children's Theater and the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. It is an awesome "kids-only" library and a performance space with several theaters, a cool teen area and a studio to get your hands on real stop-motion animation equipment to create your own movies! If only such a place existed when I was young. I had the opportunity to present my mini-cartooning camp at Imaginon for kids 8-12 who had pre-registered. Some of these young artists had pretty impressive skills, and one had a portfolio filled with pages and pages of drawings. They were definitely interested in creating their own comics and stories. It was really cool. Here are some photos taken by children's librarian and all around nice guy Bill Corder. Please contact me for information about my programs and workshops, I'd love talk to you about a visit to your school or library! 'Till next time....keep your pencils sharpened!

Welcome to the Studio!

Hello educators, parents, young readers and newcomers to the world of Hamster Sam Comics! Welcome to the studio...the drawing board...the place where you can "think outside the cage!" My name is Dave McDonald, and I'm a cartoonist and the author/illustrator of a new graphic novel for young readers titled, The Secret Adventures of Hamster Sam: Attack of the Evil Boll Weevils! If you just can't wait to find out more about it; you can rush on over to hamstersam.com and find out what the scoop is! But be warned: Kids who have read 'Hamster Sam' have been known to not only fall over laughing...but (gulp!) have actually discovered that they enjoy reading!
The book was released last Spring, and I've since been traveling to schools, libraries and museums with different cartooning programs and workshops. I even present a staff development/teacher workshop that goes along with the book. I'll post "show & tell" reports from some of my visits here so you can see how much fun I have! Young artists- send me your drawings of Hamster Sam or Miles the inchworm, and I'll post them here(first name only will be credited for safety reasons). Perhaps I'll even do a "behind the scenes" feature to show you how I create and draw Hamster Sam and make my comics! Plus, since everyone I talk to about Hamster Sam is asking, "When are you going to write the next book?", this will be the place to get updates on the next adventure....so stay tuned people! All for now, my friends...