Ogg and Bob!

Introducing OGG AND BOB, written by Ian Fraser and illustrated by Mary Ann Fraser (Marshall Cavendish)! Me want to talk like caveman.
     These sweet stories will get your kids reading - boys especially. They're written in Caveman speak so don't go searching for proper English here. But do expect your kids to laugh out loud and trudge about the house, grunting in odd lingo, looking for their Wooly Mammoths. (Who wouldn't want a Wooly Mammoth for a pet after all?)
     OGG AND BOB are hilarious, engaging, and the characters have crazy fun adventures. From trying to train their Wooly Mammoth to "come, stay" and not snore in the cave, to avoiding the scary Sabre Tooth Tiger who would like to eat them for lunch, readers will soon want more than just two books about these neolithic goofs.
     Today, I have the pleasure of kicking off the online book tour for OGG AND BOB and was able to interview Ian and Mary Ann...

Q. How did you come up with the idea of Ogg and Bob?
A. Ian: I was bored, so I decided to write something. Thanks to Gary Larson's The Far Side, I thought cavemen had the potential to be incredibly funny.

Q. The language is cave-man speak rather than proper English - how have the kids been responding to this?
A. Ian: So far they seem to enjoy the humor of that.
Mary Ann: Actually, several adults, who shall remain nameless, have been having a lot of fun imitating it with statements like "Me think there should be "Speak Like a Caveman Day."

Q. Great idea! Is Mug a tame mammoth or is his hanging around pure coincidence?
A. Ian: Ogg and Bob see Mug as a pet. Mug sees himself as just another inhabitant of the cave. Mug is tame in that he will listen to Ogg and Bob when there may be food in it for him. (To be fair, so will I.)

Q. It's unusual to see two adult main characters in a book for kids - why do you think it works with Ogg and Bob?
A. Ian: Ogg and Bob are only adult's on the outside. They aren't afraid to let out their inner child.
Mary Ann: Sounds a bit like you and me, Ian. The nice thing is now we can call our childish behavior "research."

Q. I love the illustrations - so light and fun and Ogg and Bob crack me up (they even have underarm hair). Did they come to you easily, or did it take a while to get them right?
A. Mary Ann: I actually had to do more sketches than usual to get the characters just right. I wanted them to be distinct individuals, child-like, and a bit silly. Originally the books were to be black and white, but then Marshall Cavendish decided to go full color. I'm so glad they did. That decision made a huge difference in the look of the books. Ultimately I decided to have a very lively line with washes of gouache.

Q. What would be the perfect age range reader?
A. Ian: These books are a bit special as they fall right between early readers and early chapter books, making them ideal for emergent readers, so I suppose you could say ages 6-8.
Mary Ann: I have to add that I have caught older readers enjoying them for the humor.

Q. I know I did! What's the plan for these books? How are you promoting Ogg and Bob?
A. Mary Ann: There is a book tour all this week. Hopefully people will stop by the various sites. The great news is I will be randomly selecting a commenter from each day to receive an original piece of art of Ogg and Bob. I will announce the winners on Monday, October 18 on my blog at www.MaryAnnFraser.wordpress.com. There is also a book trailer for "Ogg and Bob" which can be found on my website www.MaryAnnFraser.com.

Look for more information on OGG AND BOB as they tour the blogosphere this week at...
Mon. Oct. 4 - Elizabeth Dulemba Interview and Book Trailer release www.dulemba.blogspot.com and for the trailer - YouTube.com or my website www.MaryAnnFraser.com
Tues Oct 5 - Tina Nichols Coury Interview with the editor, Marilyn Brigham at Marshall Cavendish www.tinanicholscouryblog.com
Wed Oct. 6 - Twitter Book Birthday Party follow @bookbday
Thurs Oct. 7 - Michelle Markel's Interview with Ian and Mary Ann at www.michellemarkel.blogspot.com
Friday Oct 8 - Anastasia Suen reveals some little known facts about Ogg and Bob http://www.asuen.com/blog/
Monday October 18 - Mary Ann will announce five winners randomly selected from each day's commenters at www.maryannfraser.wordpress.com