Welcome to the official web page of THE MOOTANTS!
A thrilling and hilarious new middle-grade graphic novel & chapter book series by #1 best-selling author, Derek Taylor Kent
Get a book autographed and personalized by the author exclusively at www.Whimsical-World.com!
This first book book of a thrilling and hilarious new middle-grade series by best-selling, award-winning author Derek Taylor Kent combines the art and humor of comic books with the literary excitement of chapter books. Life on the farm has never been so hair-raising! Join the Mootants as they save our hides from an un-beakable villain bent on world chicken domination. The perfect book for reluctant readers and transitional readers from picture books to chapter books.
THE STORY: Kyma is an 11-month-old calf, and soon-to-be milk cow at Lumpke Farm in Wisconsin, widely regarding for its breathtaking pastures, happy cows, and consequently the sweetest milk anyone’s ever tasted. Kyma knows she should feel lucky, especially be side-by-side with her family and BFFs Pepper, Nellie, and Henry Jr., but she still feels a longing inside her…a longing for adventure beyond the fences of her world.
Things take a turn during her first visit off-farm to the Wisconsin State Fair. There, a sneaky chicken named Jerry introduces her to his cohort, the brilliant but deranged Dr. Eggsplat – a human scientist who seems to think he’s a giant chicken. Dr. Eggsplatt makes her an offer she can’t refuse – to be part of his experiment with a substance called “Blooze” that will give her incredible abilities and help her achieve her dreams. Soon after, she finds herself imbued with the gift of flight, but circumstances lead to her friends also becoming unwitting participants in the experiment as well, giving each a unique superpower that stems from their deepest dreams and desires. Soon they are off and using their powers to help animals in need all along the countryside, but when word comes out that a 200-foot chicken is stampeding with a fowl army through downtown Milwaukee, the Mootants are mankind’s only hope to prevent total world chicken domination! Should they risk their hides and help us? Read the book to find out!
MEET THE MOOTANTS
Autographed and personalized books available at Whimsical-World.com!
This first book book of a thrilling and hilarious new middle-grade series by best-selling, award-winning author Derek Taylor Kent combines the art and humor of graphic novels with the literary excitement of chapter books. Life on the farm has never been so hair-raising! Join the Mootants as they save our hides from an un-beakable villain bent on world chicken domination. The perfect book for reluctant readers and transitional readers from picture books to chapter books.
Hi! I’m Kyma!
I used to think I was destined to live the most boring life in the world. I spent my days grazing, batting away flies, and dreaming about what lay beyond our humble pasture at Lumpke Farm. Boy, was I wrong! After I Dr. Eggsplatt fed me a quart of his experimental “Blooze” concoction, I found myself imbued with the power of flight! Now I could anywhere and do anything I wanted. Where would you go if you could fly?
Hello there! I’m Pepper!
From the day as I was born, folks said I had stars in my eyes, and goodness were they ever right. Even though some may see me as just another milk cow on Lumpke Farm, I knew from the get go I was destined for greatness…to be the biggest star in the world. After I got doused in that icky Blooze, the stars in my eyes became bright blue lasers that could easily blast a hole through a fence post. I promise I won’t cause any trouble on set though. Do you have a part for me in your new moooo-vie?
Yeah..um..I’m Nellie.
My friends sure do seem to love all the attention of being world-famous superheroes, but not me. I liked staying inside and learning about science and math. Especially cow-culus. Talking to folks and doing interviews sure makes me nervous...and I tend to st-st-stutter when I feel awkward. Has that every happened to you? Ever since that wave of Blooze crashed down on top of me, I turn invisible when I feel scared. Remooorkable! I’m still trying to figure out the chemical reactions that cause it. Any ideas?
Sup? I’m Henry Jr.
I know what you’re thinking. What’s a strong young bull like me doing hanging out with all those calfs? Well, as the future stud of Lumpke Farm, it’ll be my job one day to protect all the cows on the pasture, so I’m starting with my friends. To be honest, after that Blooze changed them into super-cows, I wasn’t sure if would still be needed and I felt pretty unsure of myself, but then I found out that I had hidden super-strength focused in my small, but growing horns. Yahooo! I wonder if one day I’ll become the strongest bull who ever lived? Do my muscles look big enough yet?
Beware, humans!
I am Dr. Eggsplatt — the biggest and smartest chicken who ever lived! B-GKAH! Using my special Blooze formula, which I’m perfecting more and more each day, mankind will soon find itself at the bottom of food chain. Join me and my army of Blooze-infused creatures as we take over the world and make it the feathery, worm-filled utopia it was meant to…B-GAKH!…be.
TAKE A PEAK INSIDE THE BOOK
LEARN HOW DEREK AND SHERI CREATE THEIR BOOKS!
Derek’s 10 Steps to Writing Your Own Book
1. Come up with a great idea! Maybe it’s a cool title, maybe it’s a fun character, maybe it’s a whole story. Every great book starts with a small germ of an idea.
2. Get inspiration by reading books similar to the one you want to write.
3. Start building the world of your book by thinking of where it will be set and where the characters might go.
4. Start building your characters by writing a page of description about each one, from their looks, to their personality, to what they want in life.
5. Outline your story by making notes about what will happen in the beginning, the middle, and the end.
6. Write the book! Dedicate the time it deserves, maybe just 30 minutes-1 hour a day, and you’ll have it finished in no time!
7. Edit the book. Read over it several times over the course of weeks and make any changes that you think may make it better. Then show it to anyone else who might help you make improvements or fixes. Keep working on it! It can take 5 to 50 drafts before you know in your heart that it’s ready.
8. Print your book! You can make a simple version on your own printer or use a printing service like KDP or IngramSpark. Make sure you have a great cover artwork done to their exact specifications though and you have all the right type of files of the book’s pages that are also the correct size.
9. Distribute your book! You can use KDP and IngramSpark to put your book up on Amazon and all other places books are sold. You can also visit local shops and bookstores and see if they’ll carry it.
10. Market your book! Tell everyone you know about it. Make social media posts. Visit or get your own booth at book festivals where you can sign your book for people. Now you’re a working author!
Phew! It sure is a lot of work, but it’s also so rewarding to hold your book in your hands and know that other people are reading it and enjoying it.
BEHIND THE SCENES - HOW THE MOOTANTS WERE DESIGNED
The character design process is a crucial step in creating your book when you have illustrations. I have all these characters, but what should they look like? What style should the art be? It can be a difficult decision, or sometimes the answer is easy. Here are the first character designs for Kyma. Can you tell which one I decided to go with? Would you have made a different decision?
I ended up being torn between designs 3 and 4, so I had the illustrator do color versions to help me decide with a few changes. Can you tell what the changes were? What choice did I go with from there? Would you have made a different one?
From there, a choice was made of #4, but there still needed more work to be done on her design. Can you tell what changes were made? Which design did I settle on? Would you have made a different choice?
I ended up going with #4, while adding some elements from the others as well. Once the look of the main character is finished, the other characters can be designed much faster since we have established a look and style. See below.
The cover design is one of the most exciting parts of the process. The cover needs to convey what the story is about, the tone and feel of the writing, the audience it’s for, and be lure to attract the eye and create immediate interest. All of that in one image! Below is one of the first concepts of the cover. Can you tell what changes I decided to make? What do you think of it?
After a round of notes, elements were redesigned to look more like the final version. See below.
Finally we end up with this after more changes and adding color. Can you pick out all the changes and additions?
