About the Studio
Modello Brownthe storyteller
Award-winning author, illustrator, and animator — building stories and characters that teach kids their own worth.
“Honestly, the true reward would be a kid saying they did something a certain way because of how one of my characters did it. At that point, I'll know I've achieved exactly what I'm here for — my reason for writing.”
The Story
From Englewood to the Studio
Modello Brown grew up in the Englewood district of Chicago in the early '90s. Honest and direct, he's never afraid to talk about a rough upbringing — yet he regards himself as lucky to have been saved by the magic of music and art.
He's passionate about teaching young people values, self-belief, and self-worth. The Hip-Hop Little series is one of the ways he hopes to capture the imagination of children who feel like they don't have many options — and to hand them tools he didn't have growing up.
Between writing, he spends his days on animation. Disney has been a huge inspiration since he was little, fueling the majority of his artistic pursuits ever since. He also reads, studies art, and drives a truck at night to make a living — a believer in hard work and in his own passion.
His hope is that every child who reads his books will see themselves in one of the characters, and realize that whatever they're facing, other kids are facing it too. They're not alone.