Book Lists

New Releases by Joy Cowley

Joy Cowley is the author of My Tiger (2026), A Lot of Silly (2025), The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate, 2nd Edition (2025), Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm (2025), Twigs and Stones (2025).

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My Tiger

release date: Mar 03, 2026
My Tiger
My tiger loved cake, and I went with him to the cake shop. Then he got a bad tooth, so I went with him to the dentist. My tiger didn’t like sitting in the waiting room, climbing onto the dentist chair, or being told by the dentist what to eat. Especially when she said no more cake! What’s a tiger supposed to eat? A bossy adult is made to look silly and a charming tiger wins the reader’s heart in this subversively funny story about a love of cake and the pull of natural tiger instincts.

A Lot of Silly

release date: Aug 01, 2025
A Lot of Silly
Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Joy Cowley knows what makes children laugh. In this book full of absurd poems and very short, silly stories, a man takes his tadpoles for a walk in his hat, a cat is surprised by its talking feet, a tiger gobbles up a dentist, ten baggy clowns do a do-wacky dance . . . along with many more preposterous flights of imagination. Illustrations by David Barrow—a first-rate visual comedian—expand the humor in each fantastical suggestion. Cowley channels the spirit of classic, silly humorists such as Spike Milligan, Edward Lear, and Ogden Nash in this exuberant collection for the family that emboldens readers to experiment and play with language.

The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate, 2nd Edition

release date: Jul 01, 2025
The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate, 2nd Edition
This enduring tale of independence and family is an unconventional love story with a strong female lead and a pirate with a sensitive side, written by New Zealand’s leading children’s writer and illustrated by one of Japan’s foremost children’s illustrators. The fierce little woman lived in a house at the end of a jetty. She knitted socks in blue and green wool to sell to sailors who had got their feet wet. But when there were no ships at her jetty, she was quite alone. One stormy day, a pirate came to the house on the jetty. He stood on his toes, and starting tap-tap-tapping on the window... After a battle of words through the jetty trapdoor, these two windswept heroes find they are suited after all in a warm story of a carefree family.

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm

release date: Jun 10, 2025
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm
Uh-oh. Mrs. Wishy-Washy is at it again. Rubbing and scrubbing all the animals on the farm. But this time they aren''t standing for it. Duck, Cow, and Pig are leaving mean old Mrs. Wishy-Washy for good! They run away to the big city. But they get lost, wander into a restaurant, and even stumble into a hardware store and get covered in paint! Where is Mrs. Wishy-Washy when they need her? Maybe her farm isn''t so bad after all . . .

Twigs and Stones

release date: Apr 01, 2025
Twigs and Stones
Snake and Lizard live together in a burrow in the desert. They are such good friends that Lizard decides to display their names above the burrow entrance. But three small words can cause trouble between friends. They must decide whose name should appear first. Then Lizard makes an unfortunate spelling mistake—he thinks it’s very funny but Snake is not laughing. Snake finds some spelling of her own that will teach Lizard a lesson! The friends eventually find a way to put the argument behind them in this funny picture book that holds a mirror to our human flaws and reminds us that names and nicknames must be used with care.

Good Night, Good Beach

release date: May 07, 2024
Good Night, Good Beach
An evocative bedtime picture book that distills the essence of a family summer at the beach—skin sticky with salt, sandy feet, waves hush-hushing, and a shell under the pillow. Summer holidays by the sea have a rhythm all their own. With a few resonant images, Cowley takes us straight to the end of a long hot day with beach treasures under the pillow and the salty smell of the sea. The cadence of the final words echoes the shushing waves in a gentle signal of time for readers to sleep—"good day, good sea, good sand, good night." This simple poem by internationally renowned author Joy Cowley transports the reader to a childhood summer with language that asks to be read over and over. Hilary Jean Tapper''s warm watercolor-and-ink illustrations add an inclusive cast of extended family, friends, and children of different ages.

The Tiny Woman's Coat

release date: Oct 05, 2021
The Tiny Woman's Coat
A small and cozy book leaving preschoolers snug as a bug, from award-winning author, Joy Cowley. The tiny woman makes a coat of leaves with the help of her animal friends. The trees, geese, porcupine, horse and plants all share something so the tiny woman can snip, snip, snip and stitch, stitch, stitch a coat to keep herself warm. Friendship and sharing are at the heart of this warm and simple rhythmic poem by one of the world’s best children’s writers. A perfectly cozy hardback storybook to read-aloud and share with babies, toddlers and preschoolers who will delight in everything tiny and small, including the fresh and funny illustrations by award-winning illustrator Giselle Clarkson. “Now I have a new favourite cosy read to add to my collection.” —The Times UK, Children’s Book of the Week Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand’s best-loved writers for children and adults, and her stories are loved around the world. She has won a multitude of awards and honors for her bestselling books, including the Prime Minister''s Award for contribution to literature. She was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018. Giselle Clarkson is an illustrator and comic artist based in New Zealand. She illustrated Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook by Alexandra Tylee which won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and The Gobbledegook Book: A Joy Cowley Anthology. Praise for The Tiny Woman’s Coat "An inventive and delightful tale that evokes Thumbelina, The Borrowers, and other beloved wee characters."—Kirkus Reviews “Now I have a new favourite cozy read to add to my collection ... Giselle Clarkson’s evocative illustrations tell another story of the powers of collectivism.”—The Times

Wishy-Washy Valentine's Day

release date: Oct 10, 2018
Wishy-Washy Valentine's Day
Mrs. Wishy-Washy has an underwhelming start to her Valentine''s Day but her clever animals find a way to make a big surprise.

Dan's New Hat

release date: Oct 10, 2018
Dan's New Hat
Dan the flying man receives a new expensive hat and throws out his old hat. Little does he realize how tough it can be to adjust to tricky new things.

Bow Down Shadrach

release date: Feb 28, 2017
Bow Down Shadrach
** Winner of the New Zealand Children''s Book of the Year 1990** A classic junior fiction favourite from multi-award winning New Zealand children''s author, Joy Cowley. Shadrach is a very old circus-trained Clydesdale horse, and the favourite family pet. When Hannah discovers that Shadrach has been sold to a dog food factory, she decides to mount a heroic rescue and enlists the help of her two younger brothers. From the beginning their plans go seriously wrong. By the time they''ve argued with the repulsive Wuff Stuff man, hidden Shadrach in a church and a caravan, and floated him on a mussel barge they''re in desperate need of rescuing themselves.

Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses

release date: May 16, 2013
Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses
Agapanthus Hum is a whirlwind. She hums, she cartwheels, and she is always running around. Now that Agapanthus has eyeglasses, her parents want her to be careful. Agapanthus tries to slow down; she even wears a bag on her head so her glasses won''t get lost, but more often then not, her glasses go flying. What do grown-up acrobats do with their eyeglasses? Agapanthus''s parents bring her to a performance so that she can find out.

Starbright & The Dream Eater

release date: May 05, 2008
Starbright & The Dream Eater
File note: the advent of sickness is always accompanied by the arrival of a possible cure. There will be born, of human beauty, a child without fear, known as the Bright Star... Dr Jacob Tietz People all over Claircomb are succumbing to a strange illness, thought to be a deadly new virus. But this is no virus - it is a life form so advanced that its intelligence makes a computer look like counting beads. It knows the prophecy, too, and it is hunting down the Bright Star - to destroy her forever. Can Starbright Connor, the town''s tomboy and giggly dare-devil, be the chosen one who will save her beloved family? A thriller from the award-winning author of The Silent One, the Shadrach trilogy and Ticket to the Sky Dance.

Roy G. Biv [BigBook]

release date: Jan 01, 2006

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas

release date: Jan 01, 2005
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas
Mrs. Wishy Washy is back, and she wants her animals to be clean and shiny for Christmas. In fact, if they don't take a bath, they won't get their presents. It's cold in the barn, but Duck knows where to find a better bath, with warm water and pink bubbles. Full color.

The Wedding

release date: Oct 14, 2004
The Wedding
In Joy Starters, renowned children''s author Joy Cowley brings her adventurous outlook and ear for children''s language to early reading instruction.72 leveled books, 72 lap books, 12 rhyme charts, and audio CD''s employ themes drawn from curriculum frameworks of the NAEYC, IRA, and National Head Start Literacy Initiatives.

Polly and Peter Share Lemonade

release date: Oct 14, 2004
Polly and Peter Share Lemonade
In Joy Starters, renowned children''s author Joy Cowley brings her adventurous outlook and ear for children''s language to early reading instruction.72 leveled books, 72 lap books, 12 rhyme charts, and audio CD''s employ themes drawn from curriculum frameworks of the NAEYC, IRA, and National Head Start Literacy Initiatives.

Señor Armadillo's Very Fine Truck

release date: Oct 14, 2004

Happy's Hat

release date: Jan 01, 2004
Happy's Hat
In Joy Starters, renowned children's author Joy Cowley brings her adventurous outlook and ear for children's language to early reading instruction. 72 leveled books, 72 lap books, 12 rhyme charts, and audio CD's employ themes drawn from curriculum frameworks of the NAEYC, IRA, and National Head Start Literacy Initiatives.

The Wishing of Biddy Malone

release date: Jan 01, 2004
The Wishing of Biddy Malone
In Ireland, a young girl who cannot sing, dance, or control her temper stumbles across a faerie village, where a beautiful boy asks her to name her three wishes--but does not promise to grant them for her.

Taking Care

release date: Jan 01, 2003

Happy Robot, ZD3

release date: Jan 01, 2003

Iceheart

release date: Jan 01, 2003

Miss Bessy and Cowboy Bill

release date: Jan 01, 2003

Big Moon Tortilla

release date: Sep 01, 2002
Big Moon Tortilla
Marta Enos is having a bad day. It begins when the wind blows her homework out the window and the dogs chew it to pieces. Her grandmother consoles her with a tortilla as "big and pale as a rising full moon," along with ancient words of advice. This charming story, set on a Papago reservation in southern Arizona near the Mexican border, offers Native American wisdom that helps children--and adults as well--put their problems in perspective.

A Letter from Fish Bay

release date: Jan 01, 2000
A Letter from Fish Bay
In this book, Joy Cowley answers many frequently asked questions about her life, and, she shares her recipe for ice cream.

The Video Shop Sparrow

release date: Jan 01, 1999
The Video Shop Sparrow
Two brothers try to help a sparrow trapped in a closed video store.
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