Most Popular Books by Tony Johnston

Award-winning author Tony Johnston and Caldecott honor illustrator Melissa Sweet create a joyful story about the first day of kindergarten! "I''m off to kindergarten now.I''d better take my bear.He likes to sit beside me soI''ll take a little chair. . . ."So begins the long list of things Bill absolutely needs for his first day of school. Along with his pillow and some cookies, he also plans on bringing his sandbox, some digging moles, and a moving truck!A touching story of first-day jitters and hopes, Tony Johnston''s rhyming text is paired with Melissa Sweet''s delightful illustrations!

A boy wins over an abused, stray dog with persistence and love in this heartwarming story. Thoughtful care goes into a child''s efforts to help an abused dog learn to trust humans again. Stooping near the bush where the dog is hiding, offering scraps of food, and leaving an umbrella in a rainstorm all convince the dog that the child''s offering of friendship is real. When Mom insists on putting up "lost dog" signs, the boy is worried. But in the end, the dog and child find a new friend in each other.

From award-winning author Tony Johnston and David Walker comes the perfect book for first time First Graders! Kindergarten? Done! "I''m zooming off to first grade now.I need about five friendsto play good games like hide-and-sneakand where-the-sidewalk-ends."Tony Johnston''s playful stanzas meet with David Walker''s joyful art to create a remarkable foray into first grade--with all its peaks and valleys. There''s reading and counting, sure, but also show-and-tell, singing, crafts, and of course, recess! Watch out everyone, ''cause first grade, here I come!

Standing tall above the tree line, Sequoia stretches his ancient arms and gathers clouds to him. He watches as days, seasons, years pass by. His branches are home to owls and choirs of frogs. Beneath his broad canopy, a world grows. This is his story. Through controlled verse and luscious illustration, Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor do justice to the enormous figure of the sequoia tree. A Neal Porter Book

Torn from his home and parents in Poland during World War II, a young Jewish boy starving in a concentration camp finds hope in playing Schubert on his harmonica, even when the commandant orders him to play.

Quilters and young readers alike will enjoy this tender story about love, family, and finding comfort in a new home. Long ago, a young girl named Abigail put her beloved patchwork quilt in the attic. Generations later, another young girl discovers the quilt and makes it her own, relying on its warmth to help her feel secure in a new home.

Describes a Mexican family preparing for and celebrating the Day of the Dead.

First published in 1988, this gentle picture book set in Sardinia features refreshed illustrations by the beloved and award-winning Tomie dePaola and tells of the giving and sharing of music on a very special Christmas morning. Long ago, a painter and her son, Paolo, visited the poor but beautiful island of Sardinia and a shepherd shared with them his bread called foglia de musica, pages of music. When the mother offered to pay, the shepherd took his musical pipe and filled the air with music so sweet that Paolo danced and sang with joy. Many years later, Paolo, now a gifted composer, returns to the island with his entire orchestra on Christmas morning to share with the shepherds his own “pages of music”—a song of a night long ago, a blazing star, and a child born in a manger.

Contains various articles on early wagons.

An imp, a goblin, and a scalawag get together to tell the scariest stories they can think of.

Counting as they sing, whales use their mighty voices to pass on to one another the numbers from one to ten.

“Easily shareable with sibs of different ages, and they’ll be delighted to join in on the goofy brotherly song.” —Bulletin Center Children’s Books (starred review) “Poetic, unusual vocabulary…make the text fun to read aloud.” —Booklist “Johnston writes in a quirky, sweet voice that keeps the narrative moving along…watercolors by Dove have a cheery vintage feel.” —Publishers Weekly When two jellyfish brothers are separated at sea it takes all of the ocean’s creatures to help them reunite in this heartwarming tale of brotherly love. Spencer and Vincent are jellyfish brothers who live together in the sea, their wet and shining home. They invented a little song which went like this: My brother, my brother, he’s sweet, not smelly. I love him from down in my jelly belly. One day a wave of superior magnitude separates them! The brothers know they have to do whatever it takes to find each other again. And they’ll need some help along the way… Sometimes friends can really make a the difference. Spencer and Vincent is a story of adventures and the bond of family.

Poor Coyote! What’s he doing, hanging upside down in the farmer’s house, next to a pot of boiling water? How’d he wind up underneath the jicara tree, getting bonked by rock-hard fruit? Who tricked him into whacking a wasps’ nest with a stick? And why is he always howling at the moon? Because of Rabbit, that’s why! Longtime collaborators Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola look to the folklore of Oaxaca, Mexico, for this nutty, naughty tale of trickery and hijinks. Written with sly humor and illustrated in the vibrant golds, blues, and reds of the Southwest, this is a story with a flavor as distinctive as chile peppers.

Sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love, "My Abuelita" is a glorious celebration of language, the love of a grandparent, and the power of story. Full color.

The narrator describes the excitement of having the train pull into the town of Jacksonville, Texas, when he was a boy.

As the heat of the desert day fades into night, various nocturnal animals, including bats, coyotes, and snakes, venture out to find food.

"Part poetry, part celebration of nature, turn the page of this book and enter the majestic world of trees"--

Follows the adventures of three bicyclists as they ride through the countryside.

Tony Johnston''s THE BARN OWLS recalls in quiet tones the memory of a barn that has stood alone in a wheat field for one hundred years at least. The owls have nested there and have hunted in the fields and circled in the night skies as time slowly slipped by. Every night, as the moon rises, a barn owl awakens and flies out to hunt. Feathered against the endless starry night, he swoops and sails to the darkened wheat field below and catches a mouse in his nimble talons. With outstretched wings, this barn owl returns to his barn nest and his hungry family, repeating the ageless ritual his ancestors have practiced here, in this barn, for at least one hundred years. Following the life cycle of the barn owl, this gentle poem evokes a sense of warm sunshine and envelopes readers with the memory of the scent of a wheat field.

Eight-year-old Isabel hopes that her plan will spare her favorite tree, keep the butterflies coming, and provide an income for her poor family in Mexico.