Tony Johnston

Separated from his parents in Poland during World War II, a young Jewish boy enslaved in a concentration camp, keeps hope alive while playing Schubert on his harmonica whenever the camp's commandant orders him to play.

The Harmonica

When his mother is stolen from her tomb, Ramose, a 4000-year-old mummy, tries to find her in the Egyptian desert, aboard an ocean liner, and in New York City's Metropolitan Museum, with the help of a cranky talking camel and some young American tourists.

The Mummy's Mother

In 1950s Tennessee, ten-year-old David's racist father refuses to let him associate with his best friend Malcolm, an African American boy.

Bone by bone by bone

Retells, in tall-tale fashion, how Levi Strauss went to California during the Gold Rush, saw the need for a sturdier kind of trouser, and invented jeans.

a fairly fabricated story of a pair of pants

Levi Strauss gets a bright idea

Through verse and illustration, this book tells the story of the enormous sequoia tree.

Sequoia

The Vanishing Pumpkin (Sandcastle Books)

A touching novel filled with love, hope, and fellowship follows a loving Mexican-American family that resides in East L.A. as they immerse themselves in the warmth of their close-knit community. Reprint.

A Novel of the Barrio

Any Small Goodness

A pioneer mother lovingly stitches a beautiful quilt which warms and comforts her daughter Abigail; many years later another mother mends and patches it for her little girl.

The Quilt Story

Living in the boiler room of the school where her father is janitor seems normal to Martha Snapdragon, until she has experiences with an evil principal, the class bully, and a mysterious giant spoon, all reminiscent of the Arthurian legends.

The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall

Lizzie meets an elderly man and his companion, Cecile, at the park, but Lizzie is afraid of dogs, so she relies on her new friend to help her take things one step at a time.

A Small Thing . . . But Big

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

Trees

With great gusto, a child's grandmother performs deep knee bends, consumes a breakfast of "huevos estrellados," and practices vocal exercises before going to work as a storyteller.

My Abuelita

In this whimsical picture book with illustrations by beloved award-winning illustrator Tomie dePaola, the classic Russian Baba Yaga witch story gets an American twist. In Santa Fe, young Manuela finds herself in the cooking pot of Alice Nizzy Nazzy. Can she escape the hungry witch’s clutches? Manuela bravely tries to win her freedom unaware of one important rule: witches don’t like the taste of good children.

Alice Nizzy Nazzy

First published in 1978, this perfectly spooky picture book with illustrations by beloved and award-winning Tomie dePaola compiles four spine-tingling tales as told by little monsters. One dark night three little things—an imp, a goblin, and a scalawag—get together to tell the scariest stories they can think of. They are brash and brave as they argue over who should go next, and each one tries to make his story the scariest. When they finish, they realize someone was listening…and that may be the scariest thing of all.

Scary Stories

When Manuela's sheep are stolen, she has to go to Alice Nizzy Nazzy's talking road-runner-footed adobe house and try to get the witch to give the flock back, in a Southwestern version of the Baba Yaga story.

An imp, a goblin, a scalawag, and a boy tell each other scary stories.

Four Scary Stories

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

Day of the Dead

Margot Tomes

Soup Bone

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.

Hey, Dog

Outside her home in Mexico grows eight-year-old Isabel's greatest treasure: a beautiful tree. Every autumn Isabel's tree is the wintering place for thousands of monarch butterflies that migrate from the north. But this wonder is in danger of disappearing, as her family are poor and may have to cut down the tree to sell its wood.

Tony Johnston

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