Why Not Read...
Tiger Boots
'full of the usual GAA atmosphere and excitement'
Irish Examiner
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Oisín McGann
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Born in Dublin in 1973, Oisín McGann spent his childhood there and in Drogheda, County Louth. He studied art at Ballyfermot Senior College and Dún Laoghaire School of Art and Design, and went on to work in illustration, design and film animation. He moved to London in 1998, where he eventually found work as an art director and copy writer for an advertising agency.
After three and a half years of advertising, he began to fear for his immortal soul. He returned to Ireland in the summer of 2002 much as he had left ... with no job, no home and some meagre savings.
He now lives in Kells and works as an author, freelance illustrator and artist.
You can check out Oisín's own website at oisinmcgann.com.
Links
Oisín's personal website
Wikipedia page for Oisín
Interviews
Inventing Mad Grandad
Eight week residency in a Dublin school
Student work based on Mad Grandad books
Monsters Clink! Collaborative writing with a student
Oisín answers questions from St Teresa's school
Ten Reasons Why Books Are Better Than Computer Games
Extracts
The Baby Giant
The Journey back from Scotland
Mad Grandad's Robot Garden
Sample pages -- a mysterious parcel arrives
Mad Grandad and the Kleptoes
Mad Grandad is woken by the Kleptoes
Mad Grandad and the Mutant River
What happens when you go fishing with Mad Grandad?
Mad Grandad's Wicked Pictures
Mad Grandad and Lenny find some peculiar paint
The Evil Hairdo
Melanie sees a new hairdresser. Can she afford a WitchCraft haircut?
The Hair Attacks!
The Poison Factory
Meet the Gang!
See the inside of The Poison Factory
Wired Teeth
Chapter One: Terror in the classroom ...
The Gods and their Machines
The start of the book: we meet Chamus Aranson
The Harvest Tide Project
Prologue to The Harvest Tide Project
Under Fragile Stone
Prologue to Under Fragile Stone
Chapter 1: Something In The Ground
Chapter 2: A Ring of Skacks
Mad Grandad's Doppelganger
Chapter 2: Grandad's Dodgy Goggles
Resources
Mad Grandad's Flying Saucer
Discovery Challenge: make a collage, and more!
Mad Grandad and the Kleptoes
Help Lenny and Mad Grandad find the lost words
Colour in Mad Grandad and Lenny, and make up a story about them!
Help Mad Grandad find his way through the maze
Mad Grandad's Wicked Pictures
Mad Grandad is dancing to the news - colour him in and make up some dance steps of your own!
Guide Lenny through the maze and help him find Mad Grandad
The Gods and their Machines
Teaching guide to the novel by Judy Deacon
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Books (select cover or title for more information)
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The Baby Giant
(pb)
An Irish Legend retold – perfect for parents who would like to introduce their children to Irish legends and traditional stories.
'clear, easy-to-follow ... excellent for those beginning to master reading'
'abundant humour'
CBI Bookfest Guide 2009
'O'Brien Legends series provide an exciting introduction to Irish legends for the young child. They are guaranteed to capture and sustain the interest of the emergent reader'
InTouch Magazine
'Newly independent readers will enjoy The Baby Giant'
Irish Independent
'O'Brien's Panda Legends series...introduces younger readers to well-known myths and legends'
'an imaginative retelling of the legend of Finn McCool and the Giant's Causeway'
'the illustrations are stylish but at the same time simple and funny'
Books Ireland
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Mad Grandad's Robot Garden
(pb)
Lenny's mad grandad has a new robot gardener - which means trouble!
Flyer number 12
'With his big square glasses, bulbous nose and free-flying eyebrows, McGann’s Grandad is a truly original creation. The illustrations, drawn from interesting perspectives, are imaginative and full of detail'
Books Ireland
'With a real sense of zany fun, is Oisin McGann’s Mad Grandad series'
Sunday Independent
'The illustrations work very well and really add to the atmosphere. McGann’s style is direct and very readable, and is excellent for the six-to eight-year-old early reader, or for reading to younger children.'
RTE Guide
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Mad Grandad's Flying Saucer
(pb)
Lenny and his mad grandad buy a flying saucer and shoot into space together. But space is full of all sorts of creatures – some are friendly, some are not so friendly ...
Flyer 11
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Mad Grandad and the Kleptoes
(pb)
Things keep disappearing down the back of Grandad's sofa -- who, or what, has taken them? When Lenny and Grandad discover the Kleptoes and their hideout, things turn nasty.
Flyer 13
'With a real sense of zany fun, is Oisin McGann’s Mad Grandad series.'
Sunday Independent
'With his big square glasses, bulbous nose and free-flying eyebrows, McGann’s Grandad is a truly original creation. The illustrations, drawn from interesting perspectives, are imaginative and full of detail'
Books Ireland
'YEAH!!! Mad Grandad's back and this is his best adventure yet. Pretty scary stuff, this is the Borrowers with malice, and makes for a great yarn for young readers gaining confidence in tackling full-length books.'
Evening Echo
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Mad Grandad and the Mutant River
(pb)
When Lenny goes fishing with his grandad, he knows they won't catch any ordinary fish!
Flyer 14
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Mad Grandad's Wicked Pictures
(pb)
Grandad and Lenny are trying to paint the living-room. But Grandad’s paint is very old and it’s gone quite strange....
Flyer 17
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The Evil Hairdo
(pb)
'None of this was my fault!'
Meet Melanie who wants to look like her favourite girlband, WitchCraft. Instead, she has the worst bad hair day of her life when she realises that her new hairdo has an evil mind of its own!
'thrilling plotlines and peculiar characters ... An amusing read for more advanced readers in search of some revolting fun.'
Katelyn Romano, Bookfest
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The Poison Factory
(pb)
When Gaz loses his football and his little brother there's nothing for it but to go into the spooky chemical factory to get them back!
But Kanker & Byle is no ordinary factory. Gaz and his friends soon find themselves up to their necks in trouble.
'The Poison Factory is operated by zombies making the vilest concoctions imaginable'
Books Ireland
'thrilling plotlines and peculiar characters ... An amusing read for more advanced readers in search of some revolting fun.'
Katelyn Romano, Bookfest
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Wired Teeth
(pb)
Crazy dentists, secret agents and remote controlled braces – welcome to Jason’s world!
'This humourous fast-paced book is filled with hilarious illustrations, short chapters, snappy sentences and lots of mischief. Will definitely appeal to boys and will encourage the most reluctant reader to read'
CBI's Bookfest - Recommended Reading Guide
'The Forbidden Files are horror stories but with an eye out for fun and jokes'
Books Ireland
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The Gods and their Machines
(pb)
Two worlds. Two different lives. Divided by hate and violence. Thrown together by chance.
'An exciting and well plotted debut novel'
Evening Herald
'This excellent novel is a fantasy, yet every word of it has direct and understated relevance for our own political world ... The novel is chiefly a fast-paced, tense and highly convincing thriller. But McGann's impeccably fair-minded and intelligent hints at parallels with Israel and Palestine, or America and the Middle East, or the secular west and Islam, are impossible to miss, and his even-handed narrative is all the more effective in consequence. Exciting as fantasy adventure, thoughtful in present-day relevance, the book is a fine achievement and is strongly recommended.'
Peter Hollindale, The School Librarian
'... Literary excellence'
Inis magazine
'McGann has created a clever, sharply constructed novel with credible characters and dialogue and tension-filled action. An excellent read.'
Sunday Tribune
'Original, intelligent fantasy with plenty of contemporary relevance.'
Celia Rees, author of Pirates!
'A pacy, action-filled plot with very real characters facing gripping dilemmas'
Mark O'Sullivan
'Completely fantastical yet totally relevant'
Eoin Colfer
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The Harvest Tide Project
(pb)
Taya and Lorkrin must try to find a way to sabotage the Harvest Tide Project and avert the disaster it will unleash.
'Unexplained death and secret projects; kidnapping, murder and conspiracy. It all sounds a lot like the X-Files, but this is not Washington DC, but a fantasy world where the sea is formed not of water, but of a heavy, suffocating gas. An involving little fantasy in a world of monsters, diesel engines and shapeshifters. If the writing does not attain the heady heights, it is of a standard with JK Rowling and the story and setting are original and intriguing. The shapeshifting abilities of the central characters are truly unique; instead of merely changing form, the Myunan actually sculpt their flesh using tools.
The Harvest Tide Project is an entertaining fantasy for the Harry Potter set. It is a very different kind of fantasy novel, but pitched for the same age range and reading ability.'
Luke Slater, Writeaway.org.uk
'An immensely accomplished and completely original fast-paced action fantasy. This is a story you hope will never end.'
Pat Boran and Siobhán Parkinson
'An action-packed series of entrapments and escapes, successes and setbacks ... populated by a seemingly endless cast of divertingly weird creatures.'
Books for Keeps
'Original, exciting and richly imaginative, a refreshing departure from the beaten track of mainstream fantasy'
Publishers' News
'I would definitely recommend this book to other readers, as it is a spectacular tale, full of adventure and magic. Because of its fast-moving plot and straightforward style, I think this book is suitable for 10 to 15 year olds.
Evening Echo (Mark Treacy, 16)
'some wonderfully weird secondary characters.'
The Irish Times
'Depicts .. The world of Braskia, where shape-changing teenage heroes get embroiled in a variets of adventures. The substantial plot involves a number of strands, and there's a crucial science fiction dimension. Its humour will appeal to boy readers particularly.'
Celia Keenan, Sunday Independent
'One of those rare gems that are perfect for every age group.'
Evening Echo
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Under Fragile Stone
(pb)
Volume II of The Archisan Tales. Taya and Lorkrin's parents are trapped when a mine tunnel collapses in a haunted mountain. Can they rescue them before it is too late?
'From the very first pages, I was held firmly under its spell; I read it with huge enjoyment, and after reaching the final chapter I was even tempted to begin it all over again. For those that appreciate the fantastic, this book has it all: nail-biting tension stirred in with plenty of humour.'
Teresa Doran, Books Ireland
'A funny, scary and unputdownable book'
Publishing News
'there's a collection of wondrous creatures that London Zoo would cast an envious glance at, a set of rogues who veer towards the pantomime and two engaging central characters on a voyage of discovery that pre-teen and early teen readers will empathise with. It all leaves you marvelling at the invention of Oisín McGann.'
Achuka.co.uk
'very strong on invention of character and fast-moving, frightening adventure'
Books Ireland
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Mad Grandad's Doppelganger
(pb)
NEW
Grandad has lost his car and Lenny is helping him look for it. But Grandad is acting strange…
Flyer 19
'will have readers aged seven-plus in its grip within the first couple of pages'
Evening Echo
'zany illustrations and crazy fun'
Primary Times
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