Shulman, Mark 1962-

Personal

Born 1962, in Rochester, NY; married, wife's name Kara; children: Hannah, Solomon. Education: University of Buffalo, degree.

Addresses

Home—New York, NY. Office—Oomf, Inc., 420 W. 24th St., Ste. 10E, New York, NY 10011. Agent—Susan Cohen, Writers House, 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer and publisher. Worked as an advertising creative director, radio news broadcaster, restaurant maître d', and licensed New York City tour guide; Oomf, Inc. (children's book packaging company), New York, NY, director, 2000—.

Writings

Colorful Illusions: Tricks to Fool Your Eyes, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2000.

Secret Hiding Places (for Clever Kids), Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

You Poser! 101 Percent Genuine Fake I.D.s, Scholastic (New York, NY), illustrated by Joe Bartos, 2002.

How I Built Rusty and You Can, Too, Scholastic (New York, NY), illustrated by Philip Fickling, 2002.

Shamu and the Adventurous Seal Pup, Busch Entertainment (Clayton, MO), 2002.

The Voodoo Revenge Book: An Anger Management Program You Can Really Stick With, illustrated by Joe Bartos, Main Street Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Colors: There's No Blue on a Bagel, photographs by Bill Milne, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2002.

Counting: I'll Take a Dozen, photographs by Bill Milne, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2002.

Opposites: Big Bagel, Little Bagel, photographs by Bill Milne, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2003.

Shapes: My Square Breakfast, photographs by Bill Milne, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2003.

Super Sports, illustrated by Jenny B. Harris, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Jazzy Jobs, illustrated by Jenny B. Harris, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Amazing Animals, illustrated by Jenny B. Harris, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Some Pigs, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen and Joe Bartos, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2003.

Some Ducks, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen and Joe Bartos, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2003.

Some Cows, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen and Joe Bartos, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2003.

Wacky Weekend, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Hazlitt Krog) Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors, illustrated by Martha Newbigging, Annick Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

Flashlight Dinosaurs: Terrors in Time!, illustrated by John S. Dykes, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2004.

Flashlight Monsters: Invade Hollywood!, illustrated by John S. Dykes, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2004.

Fillmore and Geary Take Off!: The Adventures of a Robot Boy and a Boy Boy, illustrated by Phillip Fickling, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2004.

(With Melissa Heckscher) The Explorer's Gazette: Amazing Stories of Thirty Real-life Journeys, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Aki Nurosi) Colorful Optical Illusions, Main Street Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Stella the Star, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen, Walker (New York, NY), 2004.

Spooky Spider, illustrated by Patti Jennings, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

Batty Bat, illustrated by Patti Jennings, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

The Mini-Voodoo Revenge Book: An Anger Management Program You Can Really Stick With, illustrated by Joe Bartos, Main Street Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Big Cat, illustrated by Sally Chambers, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2004.

Foxy Fox, illustrated by Sally Chambers, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2004.

(With Aki Nurosi) Artful Illusions: Designs to Fool Your Eyes, Main Street Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Aa Is for Aardvark, illustrated by Tamara Petrosino, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Louis and the Dodo, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

(Adaptor) Madagascar (sound storybook), Meredith Books (Des Moines, IA), 2005.

A Is for Zebra, illustrated by Tamara Petrosino, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Not Another Tea Party, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Mom and Dad Are Palindromes: A Dilemma for Words … and Backwards, illustrated by Adam McCauley, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

(With Oscar de la Hoya) Super Oscar: The Made-Up Adventures of Oscar de la Hoya, illustrated by Lisa Kopelke, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

The Brainiac Box: 600 Facts Every Smart Person Should Know, Kaplan Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Nutsy the Robot Goes to School, illustrated by Katie Boyce, School Specialty Publishing (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

Nutsy the Robot Goes to Bed, illustrated by Katie Boyce, School Specialty Publishing (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

Flip-O-Matic: Instant History for Grades 6/7/8, Kaplan Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Flip-O-Matic: Instant Math for Grades 6/7/8, Kaplan Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Flip-O-Matic: Instant Science for Grades 6/7/8, Kaplan Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Flip-O-Matic: Instant Language Arts for Grades 6/7/8, Kaplan Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

The Incredible Hulk: Hulk vs. Hulk, illustrated by Louie De Martinis, Meredith Books (Des Moines, IA), 2006.

The Wicked Wit and Wisdom of Ben Franklin: More than 500 Quotes, Sayings, and Proverbs, Random House (New York, NY), 2007.

Dino in the Jungle!, illustrated by Sarah Massini, Barnes & Noble Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Wicked Weather: When Everything Goes Right, It Goes So Wrong (Discovery Channel), Meredith Books (Des Moines, IA), 2007.

Shark Attack: Top-Ten Attack Sharks (Discovery Channel), Meredith Books (Des Moines, IA), 2007.

"STORYTIME STICKERS" SERIES

Horsing Around, illustrated by Susan Nethery, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Car and Truck Show, illustrated by Phillip Small, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Magic Fairy Forest, illustrated by Kathy Wilburn, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Dinosaurs Then and Wow!, illustrated by Bob Ostrom, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Enchanted Princess Castle, illustrated by David Wenzel, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

The Insect Invaders, illustrated by Mark Collins, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Flower Girls, illustrated by Maggie Swanson, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

UFO Alien Invaders, illustrated by Ed Shems, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Spooky Halloween House, illustrated by Bob Ostrom, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Santa's on His Way, illustrated by Kathy Wilburn, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Undersea Adventures, illustrated by Terri Chicko, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Easter Bunny, illustrated by Maggie Swanson, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Mark Shulman, the founder of Oomf, Inc., a children's book packaging company, is also the author of a number of highly regarded picture books for young readers. In one of his earliest efforts, Secret Hiding Places (for Clever Kids), Shulman offers suggestions for finding, using, and building a variety of hiding places, in addition to making codes, maps, and more. "Future spies, and probably present spies, can benefit from the painstaking instructions found here," noted Children's Literature contributor Danielle Williams in a review of the work.

Two friends from the planet Zada build a canine companion in Fillmore and Geary Take Off!: The Adventures of a Robot Boy and a Boy Boy. When Fillmore and his robot pal Geary decide they want a pet of their own, they head to the Invention Room to construct Sbot; unfortunately, their creation acts more like a robot than a dog. Borrowing a spaceship, the trio set out across the galaxy in search of proper canine role models. According to Lisa Gangemi Kropp, writing in School Library Journal, Phillip Fickling's "computer-generated cartoons are perfect for the narrative's futuristic feel." In Stella the Star, a youngster lands a role in her first school play, causing her parents to go overboard with excitement. "More a satire, this tale is best appreciated by an older reader," a Kirkus Reviews critic observed of the book.

Shulman and coauthor Hazlitt Krog present advice for aspiring filmmakers in Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors. The humorous text, accompanied by cartoon-style illustrations, discusses the fundamentals of video production, including storyboarding, composition, sound, lighting, and editing. "Ideas are progressively presented in clear concise hip language," noted Resource Links critic Anne Hatcher, and Booklist reviewer GraceAnne A. DeCandido predicted that "young Spielbergs and Sofia Coppolas will probably mine useful nuggets."

In Louis and the Dodo, a fantasy for preschoolers, a lonely little boy and his songbird friends rescue a dodo that is being mistreated by the owner of a circus. A contributor in Kirkus Reviews described the work as a "dreamy, oddball episode." A bossy youngster almost loses her best friends to a chameleon in Not Another Tea Party. The "absurdist quality" of Shulman's story appealed to a critic writing in Kirkus Reviews.

Shulman has also published a pair of unusual alphabet books: Aa Is for Aardvark and A Is for Zebra. In the former, Shulman and illustrator Tamara Petrosino present words with repeated letters; the page featuring "TT," for example, includes a "little kitten." A reviewer in Publishers Weekly stated that "there are indeed laughs to be had in these silly, often inventive pages," and School Library Journal critic Steven Engelfried noted that Petrosino's colorful scenes "lend the right touch of wackiness to the visual presentation." In A Is for Zebra, which also features Petrosino's art, the author highlights a word's final letter. "A fresh, delightful take on an alphabet book," is how Hazel Rochman described the book in her Booklist review.

In another book devoted to wordplay, Mom and Dad Are Palindromes: A Dilemma for Words … and Backwards, young Bob becomes obsessed with language when he realizes palindromes are all around him, including his race car, his sister, Anna, and his pup, Otto. Shulman's "text crackles with cleverly integrated palindromes," noted a Kirkus Reviews critic, and a contributor in Publishers Weekly praised the story, "which slyly promotes a catchy spelling game."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2004, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors, p. 1618; March 15, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of A Is for Zebra, p. 51.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004, review of Stella the Star, p. 338; October 1, 2004, review of Fillmore and Geary Take Off!: The Adventures of a Robot Boy and a Boy Boy, p. 969; December 1, 2005, review of Louis and the Dodo, p. 1280; April 15, 2006, review of Super Oscar: The Made-Up Adventures of Oscar De La Hoya, p. 404; June 1, 2006, review of Mom and Dad Are Palindromes: A Dilemma for Words … and Backwards, p. 580; October 15, 2006, review of Not Another Tea Party, p. 1080.

Publishers Weekly, December 13, 2004, review of Fillmore and Geary Take Off!, p. 67; November 14, 2005, review of Aa Is for Aardvark, p. 68; March 6, 2006, review of Super Oscar, p. 73; July 10, 2006, review of Mom and Dad Are Palindromes, p. 81.

Resource Links, June, 2004, Anne Hatcher, review of Attack of the Killer Video Book, p. 31.

School Library Journal, August, 2001, Augusta R. Malvagno, review of Zany Rainy Days: Indoor Ideas for Active Kids, p. 173; May, 2004, Maryann H. Owen, review of Stella the Star, p. 124; June, 2004, Jeffrey Hastings, review of Attack of the Killer Video Book, p. 174; January, 2006, Amy Lilien-Harper, review of Louis and the Dodo, p. 113; February, 2006, Steven Engelfried, review of Aa Is for Aardvark, p. 109; June, 2006, Grace Oliff, review of Mom and Dad Are Palindromes, p. 126.

ONLINE

Annick Press Web site,http://www.annickpress.com/ (October 31, 2007), "Mark Shulman."

Children's Literature Online,http://www.childrenslit.com/ (December 1, 2001), Danielle Williams, review of Secret Hiding Places (for Clever Kids).

Chronicle Books Web site,http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ (October 31, 2007), "Mark Shulman."

Publishers Marketplace Web site,http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ (October 31, 2007), "Mark Shulman."