MAC & Holly
Authors & Artists
We're MAC and Holly, a best friends author and artist team.
MAC focuses on gentle and inspiring words while Holly creates
unique and beautiful images. Together, we design words and art
for children and their families around the world.
When we create a picture book, we pay attention to a lot of
things, but mostly we think about one child — the child who
will be spending time with our book. We feel we have a
responsibility to that child — a responsibility to give them
beautiful art and thoughtful words that are inspiring and
entertaining.
We also feel a sense of responsibility to parents and
caretakers of that child. As parents ourselves, we realize how
great it is when children find a book that they love to read —
or have read to them — over and over again. And that's exactly
the kind of book we try to create.
It may sound kind of hokey, but we really believe that a book
can be a great friend to a child. It can inspire them, comfort
them, make them laugh, and maybe even help them fall asleep
with a smile on their face. Success for us is measured by one
our books becoming a friend to a child.
Children's Books
Available on Amazon
What Is Love? is our first in a series of children's books that encourage a child's understanding of complex emotions. In this book, thoughtful, simple words and gentle imaginative art dance with the idea of love rather than trying to define it. Because love can be felt and expressed in many ways, the holistic combination of simple words and conceptual art connects with a very young child's emotional perceptions. The words and art also remind adults of what they can feel when they choose to see love through the eyes of a child, which makes What Is Love? a very special gift book as well.
Celebrating & Inspiring
We believe that great children's books come from a love and respect for children. For us, love means celebrating the child's inherent worth, and respect is encouraging the child's extraordinary potential.
Sometimes children can be underestimated in their capacity to understand and learn new things. So we write words and draw art that encourage children to explore, analyze and imagine.
By recognizing and respecting that each child will learn in their own personal way, we work to produce stories that engage a child's interest and inspire their imagination.
Our Mission
Stephen Covey said that "Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves."
We wholeheartedly agree — and like to add that "Parenting is communicating to our children their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves." That's why we believe that encouraging children to see their inherent worth and recognize their extraordinary potential are our books' most valuable goal.
MAC & Holly Picture Books like What Is Love? may be designed for a diverse global audience, but they're also designed to give you a warm and inviting opportunity to share your own personal values with your child by reading together.
Who We Are
MAC
Michael Angelo Colgan, PhD
MAC is a writer, filmmaker, and award-winning social scientist who used to be a stand up comic. His latest children's book is The Dream Box, which is a multimedia project with Aspire Street that also includes a song and music video.
Holly
Holly Hunter Sood
Holly is an innovative artist known for her distinctively whimsical watercolor images. She graduated from the Art Institute of Boston and studied painting in Aix en Provence, France. Holly often works with Aspire Street on media art projects.
Aspire Street
Creative Media
Aspire Street is dedicated to producing positive and persuasive media messages that inform and inspire. MAC and Holly's creative talents are available for select projects and companies through Aspire Street.
The Dream Box
Amazon • YouTube
When Angelo arrives in America, he has nothing — except the one thing that will give him everything he hopes for. Celebrate this inspiring, true-life immigrant story in the book, song and music video on the Aspire Street label.