Melowy is an Italian children's book and comic book series with a target demographic of girls 7-12[1] written by Danielle Star. The books chronicle the tale of unicorns with special wings, as well as magic abilities,[2] during their stay at the Castle of Destiny and Castle of Chance[3] boarding schools.
Author | Danielle Star |
---|---|
Translator | Chris Turner |
Illustrator | Erika De Pieri |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
Discipline | Children's, Fantasy |
Publisher | Fabbri Editori, Atlantyca Dreamfarm, Scholastic |
Published | 2016-2018 |
Published in English | 2018-2021 |
No. of books | 15 |
Website | https://www.atlantyca.com/en/department/publishing-contents-en/melowy/ |
Development
editDanielle Star wrote the script for the first 12 books before submitting them to Alessandra Berello, publisher manager at Atlantyca Entertainment, who she began frequently chatting with on E-mail,[4][5] including to discuss and approve the characters' clothes and accessories.
Lead characters
edit- Cleo (Clio): Home realm unknown, having grown up at the Castle of Destiny and was raised by the castle's chef.
- Electra (Elettra): From the Day Realm.
- Selene: From the Night Realm.
- Cora (Kora): From the Winter Realm. Likes to go ice skating.[6]
- Maya (Maia): From the Spring Realm. Likes to cook food.[6]
Books
editNumber | Original title | English title | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Il sogno si avvera | Dreams Come True | March 31, 2016[7] |
2 | Il canto della luna | The Song of the Moon | March 31, 2016 |
3 | La notte del coraggio | The Night of Courage | March 31, 2016 |
4 | L'incanto del ghiaccio | The Ice Enchantment | March 31, 2016 |
5 | Il giorno della felicità | The Surprise Visit | May 5, 2016 |
6 | Il libro segreto | The Secret Book | May 5, 2016 |
7 | La forza dell'amicizia | The Power of Friendship | May 5, 2016 |
8 | Il ballo della principessa | The Princess Ball | May 5, 2016 |
9 | Il palazzo di cristallo | The Crystal Palace | May 26, 2016 |
10 | La ricretta della primavera | The Spring Recipe | May 26, 2016 |
11 | La magia di Destiny | The Magic of Destiny | May 26, 2016 |
12 | Amiche per sempre | Friends Forever | May 26, 2016 |
13 | In cerca del tesoro | In Search of Treasure | June 12, 2018 |
14 | Destiny in pericolo | Destiny in Danger | June 12, 2018 |
15 | Un sogno da salvare[8] | A Dream to Save | October 30, 2018 |
Comics
editIn contrast to the books, the comics were created in the United States by Papercutz and had English as their original language.
Melowy | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Papercutz |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | Children's, Comedy, Fantasy |
Publication date | May 2018 – present |
No. of issues | 6 |
Creative team | |
Written by | Cortney Faye Powell |
Artist(s) | Ryan Jampole |
Letterer(s) | Wilson Ramos Jr[9] |
Colorist(s) | Laurie Smitch[10] |
Number | Title | Release date |
---|---|---|
1 | The Test of Magic[note 1] | May 29, 2018 |
2 | The Fashion Club of Colors | December 4, 2018 |
3 | Time to Fly | September 10, 2019 |
4 | Frozen in Time | June 9, 2020 |
5 | Melloween | February 22, 2022 |
6 | The Dream Realm | May 2, 2023[13] |
Toys
editA one-wave, 12-figure[14] toyline was released in Italy in 2015 that predated both the books and the comics.[15][16]
Reception
editThe Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) wrote about Dreams Come True that "With bright coloured illustrations", "the Melowy series will appeal to new independent readers.",[17] while Kirkus Reviews wrote that while formulaic, "the audience it’s carefully calculated to appeal to will probably adore it."[18] First Comics News wrote about The Test of Magic that it was a "younger reader book but can be enjoyed by any age.", and that the characters were "adorable" and "sickly sweet",[19] Booklist wrote that it would appeal to "Fans of whimsical, effervescent comics",[20] while BSCKids wrote that "The characters are fun" and that the "coloring and artwork really bring out their personalities".[21] Cairns Post listed The Night of Courage as a "Good Reads" in its Northern Family section.[22][23]
The first book (Il sogno si avvera) was number 8 on the kids literature list of La Stampa Tuttolibri's publishing of Italian BookScan weekly bestsellers for 27 March through 2 April 2016.[24] The following week, it was placed 4th in Corriere della Sera's kids literature sales charts for 11–17 April 2016.[25]
Translations
editIn addition to Italian and English, the books have been translated to French,[26] Spanish, Catalan,[27] Basque,[28] Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and Greek. However, only the Italian version received all 15 books.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Melowy". Licensing Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Spring 2018 Children's Sneak Previews". Publishers Weekly. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ "MELOWY._LO_SCRIGNO_DEI_SEGRETI" (PDF). Rizzoli Libri (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ "I sogni son desideri". PressReader (in Italian). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ Aquaro, Peppe (1 April 2016). "Il sogni son desideri" [Dreams are wishes]. Sette (in Italian). Italy: Corriere della Sera. p. 57.
- ^ a b "Melowy: The Test of Magic". BookTrust. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy Vol. 1 "Il sogno si avvera" di Danielle Star – Recensione "Da bambino a bambino"". Le Fiamme di Pompei (in Italian). 27 June 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy Continua Con Due Nuovi Volumi!". Luca Giorgi Comics & Illustrations (in Italian). 17 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Ramos Comics on Twitter". Twitter. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Laurie Smith". Twitter. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy Vol. 1 : The Test of Magic". Book Depository. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy Vol. 1". Booktopia. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy #6: The Dream Realm (Paperback)". Village Books. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Pokémon cards (EX) & pony melowy blind bags!!!". YouTube. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "MELOWY - principesse unicorno pubblicità". YouTube (in Italian). 2 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Photoshooting Pepperkids" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Sunday Funday Telegraph Reviews 9 September 2018". Twitter. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Dreams Come True". Kirkus Reviews. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "RICH REVIEWS: Melowy: The Test of Magic # 1". First Comics News. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy: The Test of Magic". Booklist. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Melowy By Papercutz". BSCKids. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy #3". Cairns Post. Australia. 16 July 2018. pp. 14–15.
- ^ "Melowy #3". PressReader. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ "tuttoLibri SABATO 9 APRILE 2016" (PDF) (in Italian). 9 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ "Lettura 24 04 2016" (PDF). Stefano Lorenzetto (in Italian). 24 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy T.12 : Des amies de rêve". Librairie du Soleil (in French). Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Melowy. El Cant de la Lluna: Melowy 2 (libro en Catalán)". Busca Libre (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "MELOWY 1 - AMETS BETEA". Elkar. Retrieved 18 September 2022.