There are currently two books in the series: A Horse Named Steve (pictured, 2017) and Team Steve (2018). In the first title, Steve starts wearing a unicorn-style horn to get attention, but experiences unexpected challenges in disguise. In the sequel, he has to compete in a relay race with a turtle and a snail on his team, and learns the lesson that teamwork is more important than winning. Digital storybook platform Vooks adapted the lead book into an animated short, narrated by Rainn Wilson (who played Dwight Schrute in The Office) in 2021. Sixteen South has partnered with Nelvana studio to co-develop and co-produce a 2D-animated series based on A Horse Named Steve. Kids Can Press president and publisher Lisa Lyons Johnston said, “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.” Part of the Corus Entertainment family,Kids Can Press is celebrating its 50 th Anniversary in 2023. A recipient of the distinguished Bologna Prize for Best Children's Publisher, North America,Kids Can Press is known for its acclaimed literary picture books, character-driven franchises with global and crossover appeal, and award-winning STEM- and social issues-based nonfiction enjoyed by young readers around the world. Kids Can Press has seen several of its franchise properties developed for TV and film by Nelvana, including: Franklin the Turtle; Scaredy Squirrel; the Binky Adventure series; and the best-selling picture book The Most Magnificent Thing, which has been adapted into an award-winning animated short with a TV series in production. Kids Can Press is among some of the industry's leading publishers distributed by Hachette Client Services and is a proud signatory of the United Nations Publishers Compact. For more on our books and creators:

Irish animation studio Sixteen South has partnered with Nelvana to develop and co-produce A Horse Named Steve. I thought it was naturally the most appropriate thing for me to do, so I gave them extremely normal, usual horse names – Steve, Jeff, Alan and Dud.” As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, President and Publisher of Kids Can Press. “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.” Recently the Vooks animated digital ebook of A Horse Named Steve, narrated by EMMY-nominated actor Rainn Wilson, helped earn the American company a 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Crossmedia Award nomination in the inaugural Digital Library category. The awards are part of the Bologna Children's Book Fair, the premier global children's publishing event held annually in Bologna, Italy.As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, President and Publisher of Kids Can Press. “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.” The horses’ owners also recognised her when they saw the videos, and gave her their blessing to continue bringing their pets some online notoriety. As Steve conducts his bragging tour, the horn comes loose and slips under his chin. For a moment, he believes it lost, until he looks into a lake and sees the horn in his reflection. Mistaking the reflection for the real thing, he falls into the water and loses the horn completely. Meanwhile, other animals have been copying Steve by strapping things (a branch, a stone, an acorn, etc.) to their own heads. Steve, after a moment of despair, decides that not having anything on his head makes him exceptional yet again.

Vooks, the world’s first and only SVOD streaming platform bringing storybooks to life through animation, announced the premiere of the all-new animated storybook A Horse Named Steve, featuring the vocal talents of EMMY®-nominated actor Rainn Wilson. Published by Kids Can Press, and written and illustrated by Kelly Collier, A Horse Named Steve gallops into the Vooks library today (Oct. 21) free of charge as a special treat for young readers around the world to enjoy.All of you look exceptional," says Steve, "but I just realized that I look exceptionally different!" This is a new 2D animated series based on the acclaimed debut picture book by Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier. The 52 X 11 series will feature hilarious storylines while showing the importance of friendship, teamwork and appreciating one’s true self.

Sixteen South and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana have optioned and are co-developing and co-producing "A Horse Named Steve", a new 2D animated series based on the acclaimed debut picture book by Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier. The 52 X 11’ series will feature hilarious storylines while showing the importance of friendship, teamwork and appreciating one’s true self. What I Liked Most:This is a wonderful book to draw out conversations about what makes a person exceptional. Are we all unique and exceptional in our own way? Does following the latest fad cause us to be extraordinary? Was Steve extraordinary as he was, without a gold horn? And this story even opens the door for discussions about how to treat friends. I don’t think it’s possible that Vooks could have come up with a better actor to portray the endearingly clueless horse named Steve than Rainn Wilson,” said Steve creator, author-illustrator Kelly Collier. “He has somehow managed to bring to life the exact voice I heard as I wrote Steve’s dialogue. I’m thrilled that my books can also be enjoyed in such a fun, accessible way with Vooks’ animation and Rainn Wilson’s spot-on interpretation of Steve. It’s wonderful that the book’s message on the importance of being your ‘authentic self’ will reach a broader audience through Vooks.” A Horse Named Steve" topped “best book of the year” lists when it was released in 2017 by Canadian independent children’s publisher Kids Can Press, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Kids Can Press president, Lisa Lyons Johnston. “Developing these kinds of partnerships—with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana—helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.”

Recently the Vooks animated digital ebook of “A Horse Named Steve,” narrated by actor/comedian Rainn Wilson, helped earn the American company a 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Crossmedia Award nomination in the inaugural Digital Library category. The awards are part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, a premier global children’s publishing event held annually in Bologna, Italy. It’s really hard to see any movement or breathing, especially for a little distance – so when I saw Steve just lying there, I thought I’d make a funny clip of just, calling his name and seeing how he would react.” Tiktok via @glittergreigy The 34-year-old says she ‘loves’ being able to bring a smile to viewers’ faces. Tiktok via @glittergreigy

It’s amazing to see how far Steve has come,” said Collier, “Particularly because he started out as a little doodle, I made to fill an empty picture frame! I can’t wait to see Steve strutting around on TV screens, having found the perfect home with Sixteen South and Nelvana.” TORONTO, MARCH 28, 2023 - BAFTA-winning and EMMY ®-nominated Belfast-based studio Sixteen South has announced today that together with Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, a world-leading international developer, producer, distributor, and licensor of children's animated and live-action content, they have optioned and are co-developing and co-producing A Horse Named Steve, a new 2D animated series based on the acclaimed debut picture book by Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier. The 52 X 11 series will feature hilarious storylines while showing the importance of friendship, teamwork and appreciating one's true self.