Books by J. Patrick Lewis
The Last Resort
by J. Patrick Lewis, Erin Entrada Kelly
On an afternoon like any other, an artist's imagination disappears. His quest to recover it leads him to a remote seaside hotel visited by some remarkable guests. Illustrated by the masterful Roberto Innocenti, this book celebrates the wonders of the imagination.
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Freedom Like Sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans
Presents poems and brief biographical notes about such well-known African-Americans as Arthur Ashe, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr., Satchel Paige, Rosa Parks, Jesse Owens, Marian Anderson, Malcolm X, Wilma Rudolph, and Billie Holiday.
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Please Bury Me in the Library
There's nothing like curling up with a good book, but you have to be careful. Before you know it, a minute turns into an hour, an hour turns into a day, and a day may turn into . . . eternity.
Inspired by the likes of Edward Lear, X. J. Kennedy, and Lewis Carroll, the author of Arithme-Tickle and Scien-Trickery has created a collection of original poems about books and reading that range from sweet to silly to laugh-out-loud funny. Newcomer Kyle M. Stone's clever, witty, and endearing paintings make this the perfect treat for book lovers of all ages.
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Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes
These eighteen zany rhyming riddles involve addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication to calculate everything from poodle weights to travel time. And for anyone who's stumped, the answers are included in mirror-writing below each riddle.
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Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science
These clever riddle-rhymes cover everything from dinosaurs to gravity. The illustrations incorporate clues about the riddles, and the answers themselves are subtly included for anyone who needs a little extra help. Endnotes expand on Albert Einstein, the solar system, and other fascinating scientific topics.Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 4/1/2007Pages: 32Reading Level: Age 6 and Up
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The Fantastic 5 & 10¢ Store: A Rebus Adventure
What lurks inside that mysterious store at the end of town? Only Benny Penny is adventurous enough to find out. . . .
In this book, you can read the words and the pictures. Perfect for children just learning to read, this silly, kid-friendly rebus picture book is sure to be a hit in the classroom and at home. (In a rebus, words are represented by images, or by an image plus a letter. And even beginning readers can take pleasure in reading pictures!) The pairing of Valorie Fisher’s full-page art with J. Patrick Lewis’s funny rhyming poem will give young readers plenty of clues for solving these fun and engaging picture puzzles.
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Poem-mobiles: Crazy Car Poems
by J. Patrick Lewis, Douglas Florian
This paperback picture book features fresh, quirky poems by two picture-book poetry veterans which explore practically every kid's favorite topic: CARS!
The U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and an award-winning children's poet join their prolific forces in this picture book of poems about cars. But they're not just any cars: there's the "Sloppy-Floppy-Nonstop-Jalopy" ("So unique there is no copy"); the Bathtub Limosine ("With hot water heating / And porcelain seating"); and the "High Heel Car." Each of the thirteen quirky, inventive poems will speak directly to the imaginations of children, as will Holmes's high-concept, detail-filled illustrations.
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Edgar Allan Poe's Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems
Is this poetry? Math? A brainteaser? Yes! It’s all that and more. The poet J. Patrick Lewis has reimagined classic poems—such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Langston Hughes’s “April Rain Song”—and added a dash of math. Between the silly parodies and the wonderfully wacky art, kids will have so much fun figuring out the puzzles, they won’t guess they’re learning! Answers appear unobtrusively on each page, and engaging information about the original poets is included. Math games and concepts, poetry and poet biographies—it’s all so cleverly put together. This funny book is a treat for fans of words and numbers alike.
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Edgar Allan Poe's Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems
Is this poetry? Math? A brainteaser? Yes! It’s all that and more. The poet J. Patrick Lewis
has reimagined classic poems—such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Langston
Hughes’s “April Rain Song”—and added a dash of math. Between the silly parodies
and the wonderfully wacky art, kids will have so much fun figuring out the puzzles,
they won’t guess they’re learning! Answers appear unobtrusively on each page, and
engaging information about the original poets is included. Math games and concepts,
poetry and poet biographies—it’s all so cleverly put together. This funny book is a
treat for fans of words and numbers alike.
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No copies available.
Take Two!: A Celebration of Twins
by Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis
Know some twins, or expecting to? This twinspired collection pairs poems and pictures in a lighthearted salute to the many twins among us.
Old twins, new twins, famous twins, not-at-all-alike twins, side-byside twins, let's play twins, not-yet twins, mirror twins — all kinds of twins! — come together in a collection of original poems by two of our most celebrated authors for young people: J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen. From a wave and a wink to a twin switcheroo, from a rocket to the moon to the old woman who lived in a shoe, these poems and mini facts, whimsically illustrated by Sophie Blackall, will leave even singletons with a twinkle in their eyes. Here is the perfect book to share with the twins in your life — and everyone who loves them.
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Once Upon A Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses
Clever puns and elaborately detailed, surreal artwork illuminate a collection of comically grim verses that can’t help but tickle the funny bone.
Reader, if I had more time
I’d say au revoir in rhyme,
Sayonara, ciao in verse —
But I have to catch a hearse.
Peek inside Once Upon a Tomb and find twenty-two poems, each of which tells, in hilarious verse, the story of an untimely demise — from a school principal to a bully, a food critic to a cafeteria lady, an underwear salesman to a soccer player. Complemented by Simon Bartram’s deadpan illustrations, J. Patrick Lewis’s cryptic tour of headstones and epitaphs is silly, spooky — and far from grave.
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World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of
From the Children’s Poet Laureate comes a year-round ode to wacky holidays just begging to be celebrated.
Nobody should ever forget Ewe on Ohio Sheep Day (July 14). No mata mata how hard they may try on World Turtle Day (May 23). If you’ve never heard of Dragon Appreciation Day, International Cephalopod Awareness Day, or Yell “Fudge!” at the Cobras in North America Day, it’s not because they don’t exist, it’s simply that they needed someone to spread the word. Luckily, the fantastically zany poems of J. Patrick Lewis and Anna Raff’s equally hilarious illustrations have memorialized these holidays forever. So get out your calendars — from Happy Mew Year for Cats Day to Chocolate-Covered Anything Day, World Rat Day (April 4) calls for a year-round celebration.
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Blackbeard the Pirate King
Now, the real-life adventures and the myths of the 18th century Pirate King Edward Teach have inspired a thrilling collection of biographical poems by J. Patrick Lewis—collected in a picture-book format that will quicken the pulses and fire the imaginations of young adventurers everywhere.
This dramatically illustrated book combines history, adventure, geography, and poetry in a treasure trove of rhymes about Blackbeard and his bloodthirsty seadogs. While Lewis's swashbuckling verse celebrates Blackbeard's mystique, the author's extensive historical note recovers the facts of Edward Teach's life from time-encrusted layers of legend.
The spine-tingling poetry also explores many lesser-examined realities amid the mass of mythology inspired by Blackbeard. Each of these 14 poems is written in a distinctive style as Lewis explores different aspects of the pirate's life.
Blackbeard's seaborne reign of terror also roars to life in carefully selected historical prints, dating back to the earliest known images of the Pirate King.
Blackbeard: The Pirate King is a rich chronicle of the most notorious pirate to ever scour the oceans. It's a book to be plundered and treasured by young dreamers with imagination in their blood, poetry in their bones, and a thirst for adventure on the high seas.
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Monumental Verses
Award-winning poet Lewis invites readers to climb aboard for an eye-opening, lyrical journey to some of the world's greatest monuments, including lush photographs. The back matter features a map showing each site's location, historical information on each one, and a brief history of the photographs. Teachers looking to integrate language arts into their social studies lessons will find this book a delight.
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Freedom Like Sunlight
In this unique poetry collection, J. Patrick Lewis's words are transformed by John Thompson's artwork into unforgettable images of beauty and bravery, revealing the experience of courage and human struggle in the lives of 13 inspiring African Americans, from track star Jesse Owens to jazz legend Louis Armstrong.
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The World's Greatest: Poems: The Talkingest Bird, the Tallest Roller Coaster, and 23 other 'est's
Who has kissed the most cobras? Eaten the most live scorpions? Sailed highest on a skateboard? Been stuck the longest in an elevator? These and 21 other vexing superlatives are the subject matter of this zany collection of verse by one of America's most well-loved poets, J. Patrick Lewis. Comic illustrations by Keith Graves make this the funniest, wackiest, rhyming-est book on the shelf.
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The Brothers' War: Civil War Voices in Verse
The wonderful wordplay of J. Patrick Lewis breathes new life into the speeches of Lincoln, the letters of Grant and Lee, and the moving human drama of our country's Civil War. Lewis' poignant poetry gives young readers a vivid insight into the brutal conflict that tore America apart. The author draws on primary-source books and articles to inspire each poem, bringing the ordinary and extraordinary voices of the Civil War to light. The book also includes a note from the Photo Editor on the authentic period images used throughout. Readers experience history directly as it was lived by Americans in the 1860s.
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National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar!
Named one of the Best Children's Books of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews!
Named one of the top Children's Books of 2012 by the New York Public Library!
"Add a little natural wonder to your poetry shelves. Because if we’re talking about the best possible compliment to your eyes and ears alike, few have as many perks and grand moments as this." —School Library Journal starred review
"Out of a windless August night/A luna moth in ghostly light
Beat softly on my window screen/Tick-tick-ticking-all silver green.
She whispered secrets in my ear--/I am but a stranger here.
The stars are scrawled across the sky/By ghostwriters, the Moon and I.
You will not see me here tonight--/I have a thousand stars to write."
What could be better than cuddling up with your child and this book on your lap and allowing your imaginations to soar with the words and images? Lovingly selected by U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and paired with vibrant animal photography, this collection of poems is an exuberant celebration of the animal kingdom and a beautiful introduction to this genre of literature. Designed for family sharing but targeted to ages 4-8, this dynamic, fresh, yet still classic collection of animal poems is a must-have for the family bookshelf.
Featured poets include J. Patrick Lewis, Dorothy Aldis, Emily Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Frost, Rudyard Kipling, Jack Prelutsky, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and many more.
Divided into chapters that group the poems by theme for extra resonance, the collection is a mix of old and new, classics, and never-before-published. A foreword from Lewis, sets the scene for helping children appreciate this gift of language and this visual feast for the eyes. Chapters include:
Welcome to the World (birth of animal young)
Big Ones (large animals--elephants, hippos, rhinos, bears)
Little Ones (small animals--worms, insects)
Winged Ones (birds and other flying creatures)
Water Ones (aquatic animals--fish, dolphins, crabs)
Strange Ones (curious creatures--armadillos, centipedes)
Noisy Ones (loud animals--lions, hyenas)
Quiet Ones (silent or still animals--hens, rabbits, snakes)
Last Thought (a reflection on the world we share with animals)
Releases simultaneously in Reinforced Library Binding: 978-1-4263-1054-6 , $28.90/$33.00 Can
National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
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National Geographic Kids Just Joking Animal Riddles: Hilarious riddles, jokes, and more--all about animals!
Authored by none other than the former US Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis, this collection of animal-focused jokes and riddles will keep kids reading, rhyming, and laughing like a hyena. The Just Joking series has wowed the kid crowd, and now Just Joking: Animal Riddles delivers 150 hilarious and puzzling riddles all about animals, guaranteed to tickle the funny bone of kids everywhere!
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Bigfoot is Missing!
by Kenn Nesbitt, J. Patrick Lewis
Children's Poets Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt team up to offer a smart, stealthy tour of the creatures of shadowy myth and fearsome legend--the enticing, the humorous, and the strange. Bigfoot, the Mongolian Death Worm, and the Loch Ness Monster number among the many creatures lurking within these pages. Readers may have to look twice--the poems in this book are disguised as street signs, newspaper headlines, graffiti, milk cartons, and more!
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Galileo's Universe (Creative Editions)
And so the man from Pisa probed, watched, measured, and tested. He used the dripping of water to gauge time, hand spans and arm lengths to find distance. Where Aristotle had asked why things moved, Galileo asked how.
History is full of explorers, inventors, and revolutionaries. Yet few discovered, created, or braved as much as an Italian math professor named Galileo Galilei. In the lively rhymes of J. Patrick Lewis and beautiful illustrations of Tom Curry, the life and achievements of this pioneer of the sciences are now celebrated like never before.
Poems and images, set in a magnificent pop-up design, take readers back four centuries to watch this true Renaissance man play with pendulums, peer into the heavens, and risk his life to make known the truths of our world. Galileo's courage in challenging the long-held beliefs of his time draws special attention in this book, as do his unconventional methods of research and discovery. Sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages, Galileo's Universe is a tribute to an icon of curiosity and conviction.
J. Patrick Lewis has been captivating young readers with his bright and lyrical writing style for years. His list of children's books includes Creative Editions' The Stolen Smile, The Last Resort, and Swan Song. His books have earned critical acclaim from such publications as Publishers Weekly and garnered such honors as the Kentucky Bluegrass Award.
Tom Curry has been working as an illustrator since 1977. His award-winning illustrations, which often portray both the humor and despair unique to the human condition, have appeared in five children's books and such prominent periodicals as TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic Monthly.
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Black Cat Bone: The Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson
He goes to pickin' notes ungodly
From a land unknown, singin'
like a blackbird possessed . . .
Little Robert grew up fast.
He came from the muddy back roads of Mississippi, lived largely in mystery, and died young, leaving behind little more than two grainy photographs and a batch of tinny recordings. But with a guitar in his hands, he played and sang the blues like none before. His name? Robert Johnson: a man some have called the root of rock 'n' roll, a musician trailed by rumors that his guitar was tuned by the devil.
The poems of J. Patrick Lewis, haunting illustrations of Gary Kelley, and musical lyrics of Robert Johnson himself harmonize in Black Cat Bone to tell the tale of this most legendary bluesman. As the poems explore the humble origins, rambling travels, and tragic death of Johnson, chalk illustrations offer a window onto the legends that have taken root to explain his extraordinary skills. An endnotes section at the back of the book lends factual footing to the story of this 1930s guitarist and singer, offering a fuller picture of his rise, fall, and the myth-steeped legacy that surrounds him still.
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Swan Song: Poems of Extinction (ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Awards )
by Christopher Wormell, J. Patrick Lewis
In this award-winning picture book, evocatively illustrated wood engravings combine with stirring poems to celebrate the lives and commemorate the deaths of 20 of the hundreds of animals that have gone extinct over the last three centuries.
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Good Ship Crocodile
When the skies of Africa darken with rain and the river swells, a good-natured crocodile named Snout lends his broad back to many stranded animal neighbors. After he ferries soggy fireflies, dripping hedgehogs, and other creatures over dangerous waters, his good deeds are repaid in full when a shift to hot, dry weather leaves him vulnerable instead. Written by Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by acclaimed picture book artist Monique Felix, The Good Ship Crocodile is a charming story of friendship sure to inspire readers of all ages.
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The Stolen Smile
Based on true events, this tale recounts the 1911 theft of history's most famous portrait, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, through the spirited narration of the proud thief himself.
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Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs
by Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis
Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and the inimitable Jane Yolen team up in this ironic and witty take on the last moments in the lives of a variety of animals.
Each satirical poem in this darkly humorous collection is an epitaph of a different animal. Grouped by animal type, these posthumous poems are full of clever wordplay and macabre humor that will appeal to kids (and adults) of all ages. From the humble chicken to the great blue whale, this laugh-out-loud poetry collection is sure to be a hit at storytimes and around Halloween.
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If You Were a Chocolate Mustache
In this tasty collection, J. Patrick Lewis displays the breadth and depth of his talent, giving readers of any and every sensibility something to make them laugh out loud. He stirs humor into an astonishing array of subjects—from animals to school to dragons to food. And he delivers them in a remarkable variety of forms, including riddles, limericks, nonsense rhymes, parodies, anagrams, story poems, haiku, and more. Baked in Lewis's brilliant imagination and sprinkled with Matthew Cordell's warm, witty drawings, the result is a collection to delight the taste buds.
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It's Not the Puppy
by J. Patrick Lewis, Leigh Lewis
Who is making all the mischief in this house? It's not the puppy!
Authors J. Patrick Lewis and Leigh Lewis and artist Maddie Frost (It's Not the Baby) are back with another silly board book featuring lots of minor mishaps that you might think you could blame on the puppy—but it's not the puppy! Clues in the art show the true culprits: a raccoon knocked down the garbage can and the cat stole the baby's toys. Little ones will chime in on the repeated title refrain and will delight in the surprise ending—when of course—it finally IS the puppy.
Expertly crafted by well-known author J. Patrick Lewis and Leigh Lewis, the short rhyming text makes this an easy read-aloud for babies and toddlers. Maddie Frost's friendly characters, simple lines, and fun textures will draw in young readers. A perfect gift for baby showers and new parents.
Don't miss the mischief of It's Not the Baby as well!
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Phrases of the Moon: Lunar Poems
In this ode to the moon, musical text weaves stories people have told for centuries with impressions we all might have had about this enigmatic but constant celestial orb. Enhanced by luminous illustrations, this magnificent picture book collection of original poems, retold myths, and facts about the moon glows with magic and mystery.
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Keep a Pocket in Your Poem: Classic Poems and Playful Parodies
Thirteen classic poems by poets such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and David McCord are paired with parodies that honor and play off of the original poems in a range of ways.
For example, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is paired with "Stopping by Fridge on a Hungry Evening" to hilarious effect, whereas the combination of Emily Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" with Lewis's "'Grief' is the thing with tissues" is profound, and both David McCord's "This Is My Rock" and Lewis's "This Is My Tree" hum with a sense of wonder. This playful introduction to classics will inspire imagination and wonder even as it tickles funny bones.
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Make the Earth Your Companion
"Make the Earth your companion. Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do." With this powerfully reverent refrain, readers are reminded to treat the world around us with the respect it deserves and the care it needs. Mountains, lakes, rivers, grasslands, forests, deserts—even the sky above—all of our natural environs have some message to impart, if we will but listen. Picturesque illustrations imbue the images with mysticism, making visual connections to not only the words themselves but to the feelings of wonder they evoke.
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I Am Polar Bear
The polar bear is known by many names in different languages—White Bear, Ice Bear, Sea Bear. It is Sailor of the Icebergs, Whale's Curse, Seal's Dread. It is the animal deserving of great respect, the Ever-wandering One, the Master of Helping Spirits, Grandfather, or God's Dog. Whatever its name, what is certain is that this majestic, Arctic animal is threatened by extinction and in need of human protection before it disappears from our world forever.
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National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems With Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom!
When words in verse are paired with the awesomeness of nature, something magical happens! Beloved former U.S. Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis curates an exuberant poetic celebration of the natural world in this stellar collection of nature poems. From trickling streams to deafening thrunderstorms to soaring mountains, discover majestic photography perfectly paired with contemporary (such as Billy Collins), classics (such as Robert Frost), and never-before-published works.
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When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
In moving verse, Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis gives new voice to seventeen heroes of civil rights. Exquisitely illustrated by five extraordinary artists, this commanding collection of poems invites the reader to hear in each verse the thunder that lies in every voice, no matter how small. Featuring civil rights luminaries Coretta Scott King, Harvey Milk, Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Mendez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mamie Carthan Till, Helen Zia, Josh Gibson, Dennis James Banks, Mitsuye Endo, Ellison Onizuka, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Yunus, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.
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The Navajo Code Talkers
Amidst a complicated history of mistreatment by and distrust of the American government, the Navajo people—especially bilingual code talkers—helped the Allies win World War II.
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