O'Connor, George

Personal

Male.

Addresses

Home—Brooklyn, NY.

Career

Author and illustrator.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Kapow!, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

Ker-Splash!, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Sally and the Some-Thing, Roaring Brook Press (New Milford, CT), 2006.

Uncle Bigfoot, Roaring Book Press (New Milford, CT), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR

Deborah Abela, Spyforce Revealed ("Max Remy, Super Spy" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2002, published as Mission: Spyforce Revealed, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Deborah Abela, The Nightmare Vortex ("Max Remy, Super Spy" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2003, published as Mission: The Nightmare Vortex, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Deborah Abela, In Search of the Time and Space Machine ("Max Remy, Super Spy" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2003, published as Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Deborah Abela, Hollywood ("Max Remy, Super Spy" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2003, published as Mission: Hollywood, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.

(And adaptor) H.M. van den Bogaert, Journey into Mohawk Country, First Second (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

George O'Connor is a cartoonist whose work includes picture books for children as well as a graphic novel featuring an historic narrative written during the seventeenth century. Inspired by comic books, Kapow! and Ker-Splash! introduces a trio of imaginative young characters who realize their dreams of becoming superheroes. Transforming themselves into American Eagle, Rubber Bandit, and Bug Lady, the three siblings seek out challenges wherever they find them. In a review of Kapow! for the New York Times, Jake Coburn praised O'Connor's story as a "lush, rambunctious ride through a hyperactive young mind," and noted of the book's colorful illustrations: "After seeing these enchanting watercolors and explosive acrylic action scenes, young readers may decide to turn in their capes for crayons." In Publishers Weekly a contributor wrote that in Kapow! O'Connor "draws dramatic comics with authority and humor" and creates characters that young readers can identify with. Steven Engelfried also found favor with the work, writing in School Library Journal that Kapow! gives readers "an appealing splash of adventure, neatly placed within the recognizable world of children's daily lives." Ker-Splash!, which finds the three secret superheroes spending a day at the beach, shares the same imaginative dual narrative. "The switches between daily life and a vividly realized imaginary world are easy to follow," wrote School Library Journal critic Joy Fleishhacker of the sequel, "and the action-packed presentation eases the lesson on sibling relationships."

O'Connor tells other fanciful stories in his comic-book-style picture books Sally and the Some-Thing and Uncle Bigfoot. In the first work, when a pragmatic young girl meets …, well, some thing, during her trip to a local

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fishing pond, she decides to overlook its monstrous appearance and blue tongue and appreciate its company. The young boy who stars in Uncle Bigfoot must decide what to do after he becomes convinced that his Uncle Bernie is actually a Bigfoot-type monster. "Young listeners are sure to enjoy Sally's tentative first steps toward friendship," predicted Kay Weisman in a Booklist review of Sally and the Some-Thing, and in School Library Journal Julie Roach noted that O'Connor's "snappy text and comic pacing make this an ideal read-aloud for generating laughs."

In Journey into Mohawk Country, O'Connor's first graphic novel, the author/illustrator combines his talent for art with his interest in the history of his native New York. Based on the 1634 narrative of Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert, a twenty-three-year-old Dutch surgeon, Journey into Mohawk Country recounts Bogaert's trek from the southern tip of Manhattan Island through the lands controlled by the Mohawk tribe and considered the most important trade routes in the region. Together with his companions, the Dutchman exchanges tools, knives, and guns for furs as well as the necessary food and shelter, while also attempting to develop trade relationships between the Dutch and Native Americans living in what is now New York state.

The task of transforming the seventeenth-century journal into a graphic novel required O'Connor to not only create original characters, but also to research the clothing, weapons, lifestyle habits, and setting of actual historic characters. "More than simply illustrating the account, O'Connor fills it with a new life," concluded Jesse Karp in a review of Journey into Mohawk Country for Booklist, and a Kirkus Reviews writer called the book "an example of the kind of work that will engage younger teens and spark interest in a potentially dull and little-known segment of American history."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2005, John Green, review of Ker-Splash!, p. 1822; June 1, 2006, Kay Weisman, review of Sally and the Some-Thing, p. 88; October 15, 2006, Jesse Karp, review of Journey into Mohawk Country, p. 38.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November, 2006, Elizabeth Bush, review of Journey into Mohawk Country, p. 116.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2004, review of Kapow!, p. 635; June 1, 2005, review of Ker-Splash!, p. 641; July 1, 2005, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and

Space Machine, p. 729; July 15, 2005, review of Mission: Spy Force Revealed, p. 785; March 15, 2006, review of Sally and the Some-Thing, p. 297.

Kliatt, November, 2006, George Galuschak, review of Journey into Mohawk Country, p. 32.

New York Times, January 15, 2005, Jake Coburn, review of Kapow!

Publishers Weekly, July 19, 2004, review of Kapow!, p. 160; July 25, 2005, review of Mission: In Search of the Time and Space Machine, p. 77; May 29, 2006, review of Sally and the Some-Thing, p. 58.

School Library Journal, August, 2004, Steven Engelfried, review of Kapow!, p. 92; June, 2005, Joy Fleishacker, review of Ker-Splash!, p. 123; December, 2005, Terrie Dorio, review of Mission, p. 136; March, 2006, Julie Roach, review of Sally and the Some-Thing, p. 200; April 2006, Walter Minkel, review of Mission: The Nightmare Vortex, p. 133.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2007, Snow Wildsmith, review of Journey into Mohawk Country, p. 557.

ONLINE

Comics Reporter Online,http://www.comicsreporter.com/ (March 28, 2007), review of Journey into Mohawk Country.

First Second Book Web site,http://www.firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/ (March 28, 2007), interview with O'Connor.