Kelly Collier

First-time author-illustrator Kelly Collier was born in Ottawa and grew up in Toronto. She has an identical twin sister and an older brother. As kids, Kelly and her sister drew all the time, mostly in an effort to “outdraw” their brother. Kelly studied illustration in college and has had lots of editorial work published, but has always wanted to create a children’s book. The idea for A Horse Named Steve came from a doodle she did to fill a small empty frame at home. Kelly married a fellow artist who doesn’t complain when her projects take over the entire house, she has a dog who sort of resembles Steve and she really loves gold.

When Steve finds a beautiful gold horn lying on the ground in the forest, he realizes he has found his path to the exceptional! He immediately ties the horn to the top of his head and prances off to show his friends – and many are so inspired, they decide to tie items to the tops of their heads, too! So when Steve discovers his horn has suddenly gone missing, he’s devastated. He won’t be exceptional without his horn! Or will he?

Besides its appeal as a read-aloud, this book would be a terrific choice to launch discussions on self-esteem, proper social skills and how to treat your friends.

Ages: 4 – 8
Grades: K – 3