A Horse Named Steve (Steve the Horse)

Product Information

A Horse Named Steve is a picturebook by Kelly Collier about a horse named Steve who is a fine horse, but who longs to be more. When Steve finds a gold horn in the forest and attaches it to his head, ta-da! Exceptional! His friends are so impressed, they, too, attach objects to their own heads, in an effort to be as exceptional as Steve. So when Steve suddenly realizes his horn has gone missing, he’s devastated! He won’t be exceptional without his horn! Or will he?

It's amazing to see how far Steve has come," said author-illustrator Kelly Collier, "Particularly because he started out as a little doodle I made to fill an empty picture frame! I can't wait to see Steve strutting around on TV screens, having found the perfect home with Sixteen South and Nelvana." Corus Entertainment Brief: Says Consolidated revenue was flat for the quarter and decreased 5% for the year It’s amazing to see how far Steve has come,” said Collier, “Particularly because he started out as a little doodle, I made to fill an empty picture frame! I can’t wait to see Steve strutting around on TV screens, having found the perfect home with Sixteen South and Nelvana.”How can you not love Steve the Horse?” Wilson said. “He’s fun, lovable, wears his emotions on his sleeve, and is utterly clueless in the best possible way. I had such a great time working on this, and I think Steve and his antics are going to be a big hit with Vooks readers!” Steve is a fine horse, but one with aspirations of being more than fine. He longs to be an EXCEPTIONAL horse. Some horses wear ribbons, but Steve-the-fine-horse does not. The tragedy that has befallen him has a positive outcome though—turns out that Steve’s horn has started a thing-on-the-head mania amongst the forest creatures, and when he falls in the water and his horn gets lost…suddenly Steve is exceptional again. Turns out bare heads are where it’s at after all—”I love the natural look he’s got going,” says the rabbit, the other animals agreeing, “Very stylish. How does he do it?” Irish animation studio Sixteen South has partnered with Nelvana to develop and co-produce A Horse Named Steve. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Kids Can Press president, Lisa Lyons Johnston. “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.”

Rainn Wilson is a blast to work with,” said Russell Hirtzel, Vooks Co-Founder and Director of A Horse Named Steve. “Putting this particular storybook together was really unique—we worked completely via video call to capture the performance, connecting our team in Portland, OR, with Rainn at his home studio near Los Angeles. Kids are going to flip over Steve the Horse. Undoubtedly, their parents already love Rainn—I mean, come on, he’s THE Assistant (to the) Regional Manager! Now, families everywhere get to laugh along together as they enjoy another of his unforgettable character performances.” I had been speaking to some neighbours the day before, and they told me the horses had nearly given them heart failure in the past – because when they sleep in the fields, they look dead. I made it quite early that morning, but didn’t get around to posting it until around 7pm – went about my evening as usual, put the kids to bed. The world is a big place and kids (adults too) often feel that others don't recognize just how special we each are. In fact, we all spend a lot of effort trying to stand out from then"maddening crowd". Does this often mean copying the.latest trends? If you are a parent or teacher, you know this is true. Being unique and authentic is hard but Steve shows that it is "extra ordinary". This book delivers the message in a simple, straightforward way that kids will love. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, President and Publisher of Kids Can Press. “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.”

Bafta-winning and Emmy-nominated Belfast-based studio Sixteen South recently announced that together with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, they have optioned and are co-developing and co-producing A Horse Named Steve. It’s amazing to see how far Steve has come,” said author-illustrator Kelly Collier. “Particularly because he started out as a little doodle I made to fill an empty picture frame! I can’t wait to see Steve strutting around on TV screens, having found the perfect home with Sixteen South and Nelvana.” There are currently two books in the series: A Horse Named Steve (pictured, 2017) and Team Steve (2018). In the first title, Steve starts wearing a unicorn-style horn to get attention, but experiences unexpected challenges in disguise. In the sequel, he has to compete in a relay race with a turtle and a snail on his team, and learns the lesson that teamwork is more important than winning. Digital storybook platform Vooks adapted the lead book into an animated short, narrated by Rainn Wilson (who played Dwight Schrute in The Office) in 2021. Award-winning Belfast-based animation studio Sixteen South and kids’ content leader Nelvana announced an agreement to option, co-develop and co-produce a new 2D animated series, A Horse Named Steve, based on the hugely popular debut picture book by Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier. The 52x11 series will feature funny storylines while illustrating the importance of friendship, teamwork, and appreciating one’s true self.

Nelvana is an international entertainment studio that produces and distributes children’s animated and live-action content. Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in over a hundred and eighty countries around the world. Recently the Vooks animated digital ebook of A Horse Named Steve, narrated by Emmy-nominated actor Rainn Wilson, helped earn U.S.-based Kids Can Press a 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Crossmedia Award nomination in the inaugural Digital Library category. The awards are part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the premier global children’s publishing event held annually in Bologna, Italy.

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The horses’ owners also recognised her when they saw the videos, and gave her their blessing to continue bringing their pets some online notoriety.