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A stunning new book for middle readers Margot McMahon has a newly published book that received a Top New Release for Children's Chemistry from Amazon. An ebook edition is in production. Illinois Women's Press Association has awarded Coral:
Mate E Palmer First Place for Graphics 2025
Mate E Palmer Second Place for Verse 2025
Mate E. Palmer Second Place for Design
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McMahon’s illustrated children’s book follows a week in the life of coral as narrated by an inquisitive Polyp. Polyp, a “tiny sea animal,” explains how its ancestors began growing in the ocean 485 million years ago. It is the animal that, along with Atoll (mineral) and Algae (plant), forms coral. Beginning on Sunday, the narrative follows the trio’s day-to-day experiences over the course of a week, beginning with an innocent and enjoyable “soaking in the sun.” But the coral reefs quickly become sick as humans, animals, and factories expel more greenhouse gases—and thus more carbon mixes with the salt water to create toxic carbonic acid. This increase in carbon creates warmer water, until the ocean is eventually so hot that Polyp can no longer collect enough food to survive. But by the end of the week, Polyp is saved when some turquoise Alga “snuggles in to churn the sun into sugars to revive me” as La Niña and new Alga patterns “bring the reef a brighter hope.” Simple text alternates with full-color paintings of ocean life, with a particular focus on coral and algae. McMahon, who both writes and illustrates the book, uses a muted color palette that nevertheless saturates the images with deep color; glimpses of brown, brainlike algae and brighter, warmer colors slowly give way to lighter creams and beiges as Polyp begins the process of bleaching. Certain characteristics conjure a unique sense of humanness: “Bleaching is when I turn white from losing my vitality. You would too if your partner leaves you.” McMahon occasionally lapses into an inconsistent, sort-of rhyme (“Thursday’s warmer water triggers Algae and I to bicker on our reef that is sicker”) that can be a bit jarring. But the rich paintings and evocative phrases (“an ocean volcano burped up a bubble”; “Algae huddles in my pink cup”) ultimately relay the vivid joys and sorrows of a unique resource in imminent danger. A gorgeously illustrated primer that introduces the basics of coral and its destruction by environmental changes. —Kirkus Book Review |
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Go to Margot's Palauan Coral Paintings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNESCO is endorsing Margot's coral painting posts and newsletters through 2025, including her Substack. Register here. |
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Margot's coral paintings were endorsed for the Ocean Decade activity “The Ring of Fire:Friends, Reefs, and Bounce Back,” that ran through June of 2024. See more here. |
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Airdrie A young adult "mini book" from Margot McMahon's coming of age in Chicago, Learn more and order from Bookshop.org. Order from Auquarius Press/Willow books here. |
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The Fifth Season: The Chicago Tree Project By Margot McMahon, with photographs by Tess Landon |
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A book celebrating fifty sculpted trees by thirty renown artists over 30 miles of Chicago Park sculpture museum. The book is available at The Book Table in Oak Park on Lake Street, or online from More Books or Amazon.
The first section of the book is an explanation of the importance of keeping condemned trees in urban nature. The second section is poetry of the vital life within a dying tree including feeding birds, creating burrows for animals and interactions with the grove of like trees. The third section is a service workshop to care for the park and parkway saplings. We would like to create an exchange between neighborhoods with teens to plant a tree in another neighborhood in exchange, and care for the tree planted by others with an annual picnic or reading by the two high schools. |
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![]() Contact Margot Via Email |
MargotMcMahon.com
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