Press Kit
Marcelo Verdad
Bio:
Marcelo Verdad is the author illustrator of The Worst Teddy Ever and El peor Teddy del mundo, which received a Blue Ribbon from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, was a 2022 Indigo Best Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Barnes and Noble Book Awards. He is also the author and illustrator of The Dream Catcher, and its Spanish edition, El atrapasueños. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he dedicates his time to his young students at an art academy, and to his tiny furry life companion, Prana.
Extended Bio:
Marcelo Verdad is a queer author and illustrator from México and the creator of The Worst Teddy Ever—which he also wrote in Spanish as El peor Teddy del mundo, and received a Blue Ribbon from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, was a 2022 Indigo Best Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Barnes and Noble Book Awards. Marcelo likes to tell layered stories from unconventional perspectives. He describes his work as "consciousness disguised as design." His visual practice involves a lot of play. It starts with multiple recognizable elements for kids—paper textures, cutouts, crayons, bright colors and basic shapes— to create an accessible visual language for them. Then he edits his compositions digitally until he feels a big smile take hold of his face. The smile is a crucial and serious part of the process. Very serious.
Marcelo graduated from ArtCenter College of Design, where he fell in love with kids’ books. He sees them as a great opportunity to share valuable tools to help tiny ones build a strong foundation from which to navigate this world with kindness, openness, and compassion. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he dedicates his time to his young students at an art academy, and to his tiny furry life companion, Prana. Marcelo and Prana love to drink chocolate milk and nap together. His newest project, The Dream Catcher, will be published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers in spring 2024, and released simultaneously in Spanish as El atrapasueños.
You can find Marcelo traveling across space in his pink spaceship or at marceloverdad.com and @marceloverdad on IG.
Book Agent:
Adriana Domínguez
ACM Kids & Illustration
adominguez@aevitascreative.com
Speaking Agent:
Phil Bildner
The Author Village
Publicity Manager:
The Worst Teddy EVER & The Dream Catcher
Sadie Trombetta
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Dream Catcher
Fun and engaging to share with your young ones, this meaningful story about living in the moment and practicing mindfulness is the perfect gateway to such important themes, as well as economic harships and working families. For fans of Last Stop on Market Street, an uplifting story about a boy who stays true to his biggest dream while finding the magic in every moment. Some people dream of perfect waves, fancy castles, or piloting a plane. Others dream of someone to laugh and play with all day long. Some just dream of having a meal for the next day. And little Miguel? As he and Abuelito work in the hot Oaxacan sun, selling cold coconuts and macrame dream catchers to earn a few coins, Miguel has only one simple wish—to have his parents by his side. But how can he keep the faith when the truth is that dreams don’t always come to pass? Marcelo Verdad’s poignant tale of hope and resilience shows how living in the here and now can be a journey every bit as beautiful as a dream.
The Worst Teddy EVER
PreS-Gr 2—Noa loves his teddy, but gets pretty annoyed that he is always tired. She feels like Teddy is always napping, unlike the other kids' super awesome friends. But, when Noa goes to sleep, it turns out that Teddy has a super important and exhausting job. Verdad has created a wonderful story that will make readers believe it's going in a different direction than it does. The simple vocabulary makes apparent whether it is Noa's or Teddy's perspective, and what they are feeling, and neither drags on for too long. Verdad's illustrations show the character's emotions as well as the events and experiences of the story; also shown is Teddy's ongoing activities, night and day! The contrast in colors will also cue readers in to the time differences, providing adults and children a story to cuddle up to that makes a subtle point about never knowing another person—or a teddy bear's—whole story. This book has many uses in the classroom, for supporting conversations about misunderstandings, learning to read between the lines, and not assuming. VERDICT A warm story for explaining that underlying answers aren't always obvious, and that readers can't know what others are going through. Good for read-alouds and SEL shelves.—School Library Journal Publishing simultaneously in English and Spanish, here is a sweet, funny author-illustrator debut about the unrecognized heroes in our lives, for fans of Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson. Noa LOVES Teddy. But Teddy is ALWAYS tired! Why is Teddy always too sleepy to play with Noa during the day? It turns out that Teddy has a good reason, and Noa is in the dark about what’s happening behind the scenes at night...when Teddy works tirelessly to protect his little boy from a colorful ensemble of unwelcome nighttime visitors! At once laugh-out-loud funny and endearing, Marcelo Verdad's outstanding debut picture book explores how expectations don’t always allow us to see others for who they truly are, and how sometimes what we want isn’t always what we need. ★ Blue Ribbon from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. ★ 2022 Indigo Best Book of the Year. ★ 2023 Barnes and Noble Book Awards finalist.
El atrapasueños
Divertida y atractiva para compartir con los más pequeños, esta significativa historia sobre cómo vivir en el presente y practicar mindfulness es la puerta de entrada perfecta a estos temas tan importantes, así como a las dificultades económicas y las familias trabajadoras. Para los fans de Last Stop on Market Street llega una historia inspiradora sobre un niño que se mantiene fiel a su sueño más grande mientras encuentra magia en cada momento. Algunas personas sueñan con olas perfectas, castillos lujosos o pilotear un avión. Otras sueñan con alguien con quien reír y jugar el día entero. Algunas solo sueñan con tener comida para el día siguiente.¿Y el pequeño Miguel? Mientras él y su abuelito trabajan bajo el ardiente sol oaxaqueño vendiendo cocos y atrapasueños para ganarse unas monedas, Miguel solo conserva un simple deseo: tener a sus padres a su lado. Pero ¿cómo puede seguir confiando cuando la verdad es que los sueños no siempre se hacen realidad? Esta conmovedora historia de esperanza y resiliencia de MarceloVerdad demuestra que vivir en el aquí yel ahora puede ser un viaje tan hermoso como un sueño.
El PEOR Teddy del mundo
Conoce a Noa y al PEOR Teddy del mundo en este dulce y divertido debut sobre los héroes no reconocidos en nuestras vidas, para fanáticos de Mac Barnett y Christian Robinson. Edición en inglés, The Worst Teddy Ever, también disponible. Noa AMA a Teddy. ¡Pero Teddy SIEMPRE está cansado! ¿Por qué Teddy siempre tiene demasiado sueño para jugar con Noa durante el día? Resulta que Teddy tiene una buena razón, y Noa no sabe lo que sucede entre bastidores por la noche… ¡cuando Teddy trabaja incansablemente para proteger a su pequeño niño de un colorido conjunto de visitantes nocturnos no invitados! Este novedoso debut escrito e ilustrado por Marcelo Verdad, a la vez encantador y muy cómico, explora cómo nuestras expectativas no siempre nos permiten ver a los demás por lo que realmente son. Y cómo, a veces, lo que queremos no es exactamente lo que necesitamos. ★ Blue Ribbon from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. ★ 2022 Indigo Best Book of the Year. ★ 2023 Barnes and Noble Book Awards finalist.
© 2024 Marcelo Verdad
All rights reserved.