Books by Judy Sierra
Wild About Books
OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD!
Winner of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award
It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.
In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. “She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter.” In no time at all, Molly has them “forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks,” going “wild, simply wild, about wonderful books.” Judy Sierra’s funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown’s lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
Copies
No copies available.
Schoolyard Rhymes: Kids' Own Rhymes for Rope-Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun
by Judy Sierra
"Schoolyard rhymes are catchy and fun. They are easy to remember. In fact, they stick in the mind like bubble gum to a shoe." writes Judy Sierra in her introduction to this lively collection of traditional playground chants. Included are more than 50 verses ranging from the familiar jump rope rhyme about the mythical lady with the alligator purse to less familiar counting-out ones, from funny rhymes for ball-bouncing and hand-clapping games to "Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long as a telephone wire" and other choice insults of children. Melissa Sweet includes bright, colorful fabric swatches in her watercolor-and-pencil collages to perfectly capture the spirit of these funky, street-smart verses that children love to recite and chant.
Copies
No copies available.
Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers (I Can Read Level 2)
by Judy Sierra
Yikes! This collection of easy-to-read, silly, spooky tales features a pirate bride, a ghost that grows and grows, and a big slobbery monster.
Copies
No copies available.
What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile?
by Judy Sierra
A telling-time adventure for ages 3 to 8
Mr. Crocodile has big plans for finally catching and eating five pesky monkeys. But as the hours pass, the monkeys dupe him again and again. In the end they teach persnickety Mr. Crocodile something about friendship . . . and about having fun.
From the bestselling author of Counting Crocodiles and the talented illustrator of more than eighty children's books, here's a lively story about another thickheaded crocodile outwitted by mischievous monkeys. Children will delight in the rhyming text and will eagerly search for the clock that marks the hour in each spread. Soon they'll be shouting, "What time is it, Mr. Crocodile?"
Copies
No copies available.
What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile?
by Judy Sierra
A telling-time adventure for ages 3 to 8
Mr. Crocodile has big plans for finally catching--and eating--five pesky monkeys, but those little rascals dupe him again and again. By the time the clock strikes six, those mischievous monkeys actually teach Mr. Crocodile a thing or two about friendship . . . and about having fun!
Copies
No copies available.
Preschool to the Rescue
by Judy Sierra
Look out! There's a sleepy, creepy, deeper-than-you'd-think mud puddle on the preschool playground, and it has swallowed up a pizza van, a fire engine . . . even a tow truck! But don't worry, this group of clever preschoolers knows just how to rescue them!
The talented duo who brought readers the popular Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built have created an irresistible playground adventure.
Copies
No copies available.
The House That Drac Built
by Judy Sierra
In a twist on a favorite cumulative verse, vividly and creepily illustrated in oils and pastels, a group of fearless trick-or-treaters set out to tame a dark house full of rambunctious creatures natural and unnatural. Reprint.
Copies
No copies available.
Monster Goose
by Judy Sierra
Old Monster Goose has turned Mother Goose's world of nursery rhymes inside out! Here she presents twenty-five deliciously disgusting poems, filled with rodents and maggots, zombies and ghouls, spiders, and of course, monsters.Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 9/1/2005Pages: 56Reading Level: Age 5 and Up
Copies
No copies available.
Counting Crocodiles
by Judy Sierra
Poor Monkey. All there is to eat on her little island are sour lemons. One day she spies a banana tree on a faraway island, but the only way to get to it is to navigate the crocodile-infested waters of the Sillabobble Sea. That’s no problem when you’re a brave and devious monkey who knows how to count to ten and back!
Copies
No copies available.
Wild About You!
by Judy Sierra
A story of adoption at the zoo for ages 2 to 8
The tree kangaroo at the zoo would like nothing more than a baby of her own. So, when a new egg arrives via the endangered species van, the 'roo jumps at the chance to take care of it, even when no one else wants it. Soon, out comes a penguin and all the animals chip in to help because, as the tree kangaroo says, "Penguins eat fishes."
Told in Judy Sierra's classic rollicking rhyme, and paired with Marc Brown's breathtaking folk-art style paintings, Wild About You! is another delightful collaboration from this New York Times bestselling duo that fans of Wild About Books and ZooZical will want to adopt for their own book collections.
Copies
No copies available.
Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf
by Judy Sierra
Judy Sierra, author of the award-winning bestseller Wild About Books, and J. Otto Seibold of Olive, the Other Reindeer fame use the familiar storybook character B(ig) B(ad) Wolf, who is now retired and residing at Villian Villa Senior Center, to create a funny original story. Very young children will delight in seeing this all-star cast of storybook characters--the three pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, the Gingerbread Boy, and others--interacting with B.B. Wolf in an entirely new, funny, and helpful story about knowing when to say "please," "thank you," and "excuse me." As she did in her E. B. White Read-Aloud Award winner Wild About Books, Judy Sierra has written a story that begs to be read aloud.
Copies
No copies available.
Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf
by Judy Sierra
BIG BAD WOLF, now old and residing in the Villain Villa Senior Center, is invited to a tea by a children's librarian. His best friend, a toothsome crocodile, warns him that he will have to mind his manners. B. B. Wolf makes up a song: "Sip your tea and never slurp, say 'excuse me' if you burp. Smile and have a lot of fun, but don't go biting anyone." He remembers to say "please" and "thank you" and he gives a nervous Red Ridinghood, Three Little Pigs, and Gingerbread Boy his biggest smile ever, but when his stomach starts to gurgle, he gets a little mixed-up about what to do when you burp. This hilarious read-aloud story is a gentle reminder for children still learning their manners.
Copies
No copies available.
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly-Pie
by Judy Sierra
Thelonius Monster once swallowed a fly, and decided that flies would taste grand in a pie. That silly guy!
Judy Sierra’s funny read-aloud romp presents a monster that children will love as he makes a goo-filled crust, lures hundreds and thousands of succulent flies into it, and invites his “disgusting-ist” friends and relations to a gala fly-pie party. “How it glistens! And listen—it hums!” shout the ravenous monsters. But just as his guests are about to dig in—the pie flies off. “Bye, bye, fly pie.”
Judy Sierra’s story in rhyme begs to be read aloud during Halloween season or any season, and Edward Koren’s signature hairy monsters capture all the humor of this deliciously gross tale.
Copies
No copies available.
Silly & Sillier: Read Aloud Tales from Around the World
by Judy Sierra
This big, beautiful book offers 20 favorite tales from around the world that will tickle the funnybone of young listeners. While most of the tales are totally new to Americans and come from countries as far flung as Iran and Italy, the Bahamas and Borneo, children will be delighted to discover some tales with themes similar to their favorites, such as “Rumpelstiltskin” and “The Three Little Pigs.” The brief, lickety-split retellings beg to be read aloud and the nearly 90 lively, colorful illustrations invite children to look at the book again and again.
Copies
No copies available.
Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark
by Judy Sierra
DANGER! WARNING! KIDS beware! Bound in the bilious green-spotted fur (100% fake) of an unidentified weird beast, here is a book that kids will love—quite literally—from cover to cover. In the macabre spirit of the Halloween season, funny rhymes range from “Parasite Lost” to “Leap Halloween,” and are illustrated with gruesome graphics. Elementary school kids will want to be the first to own this outrageous fur-clad book, but librarians may prefer the standard library bound edition, minus the fur!
Copies
No copies available.
The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town
by Judy Sierra
An exceptional bedtime read-aloud for 2-6 year olds!
It's sleepy time in Alphabet Town. The moms and dads (capital letters) run around and around as they struggle to corral their children (little letters) into bed. Judy Sierra's lively, giggly couplets mingle with hilarious collages by Melissa Sweet.
At every turn of the page, little letters grow sleeper and sleepier, from wide-awake a to sound-asleep baby z. The book will enchant for many evenings, offering up new surprises as readers discover secrets and clues in the A to Z illustrations of this exceptional bedtime read-aloud.
Copies
No copies available.
The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town
by Judy Sierra
Snuggle up with this fun bedtime board book, perfect for toddlers learning their ABCs!
Judy Sierra’s rollicking alphabet story features the lowercase letters of the alphabet. Like children, they have a trunkful of tricks for putting off bedtime. But ultimately their moms and dads (the capital letters) succeed in tucking them in with a good-night kiss.
Melissa Sweet’s watercolor, pencil, and collage illustrations enliven these little letters with animated expressions, and Judy Sierra’s brief rhyming story begs repeat readings at bedtime.
Copies
No copies available.
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie
by Judy Sierra
Thelonius Monster once swallowed a fly, and decided that flies would taste grand in a pie. That silly guy!
Judy Sierra’s funny read-aloud romp presents a monster that children will love as he makes a goo-filled crust, lures hundreds and thousands of succulent flies into it, and invites his “disgusting-ist” friends and relations to a gala fly-pie party. “How it glistens! And listen—it hums!” shout the ravenous monsters. But just as his guests are about to dig in—the pie flies off. “Bye, bye, fly pie.”
Judy Sierra’s story in rhyme begs to be read aloud during Halloween season or any season, and Edward Koren’s signature hairy monsters capture all the humor of this deliciously gross tale.
Copies
No copies available.
Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur: A First Book of Manners
by Judy Sierra
A little girl is shopping in a grocery store when—surprise!—she meets a dinosaur. Don't worry. The dinosaur is very friendly. She's polite, too. In this funny story, told in lilting read-aloud rhyme, the girl has numerous opportunities to be helpful to the clumsy shopping dino and demonstrate when to say "thank you," "excuse me," "I'm sorry," "You're welcome," and other niceties of life. Tim Bowers's whimsical illustrations bring an extra dimension of fun to Judy Sierra's hilarious picture book fantasy. Altogether, Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur is an entertaining and painless way to show preschoolers why basic manners are a good thing to have.
Copies
No copies available.
Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur: A First Book of Manners
by Judy Sierra
A hilarious book about manners for ages 3-6
A little girl is shopping in a grocery store when--surprise!--she meets a dinosaur. Don't worry. The dinosaur is very friendly. She's polite, too. In this funny story, told in lilting read-aloud rhyme, the girl has numerous opportunities to be helpful to the clumsy shopping dino and demonstrate when to say "thank you," "excuse me," "I'm sorry," "You're welcome," and other niceties of life. Tim Bowers's whimsical illustrations bring an extra dimension of fun to Judy Sierra's hilarious picture book fantasy. Altogether, Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur is an entertaining and painless way to show preschoolers why basic manners are a good thing to have.
Copies
No copies available.
ZooZical
by Judy Sierra
Winter weather is keeping children from visiting the zoo. So the animals are out of sorts—listless, grumpy, and no longer fun. All except two little friends, a very small hippo and a baby kangaroo. Their hip-hopping, toe-tapping, and rap-rocking soon has the other animals joining in the hip-aroo beat. "Racoons danced in pairs, baboons danced in troops, and snakes joined the dancers as live hula-hoops." Children's favorite songs get a funny new spin—seals bark out "The seals on the bus go round and round"—as the animals create their very own musical.
Young readers and listeners will be amazed and delighted at how the animals chase the winter doldrums by getting along as friends, pooling their talents, and pushing themselves to new heights. After all, these are the same clever animals who learned to read in Judy Sierra's and Marc Brown's Wild About Books, an award-winning New York Times #1 bestselling picture book. ZooZical is sure to inspire some "can do" fun in kindergarten and primary grades.
Copies
No copies available.
Everyone Counts
by Judy Sierra
From the bestselling creators of Wild About Books comes a rhyming, counting, and teamwork-focused picture book about the beginnings of a new zoo!
When Takoda the tiger cub happens upon a tumbledown mall, the lone cub imagines a zoo. All Takoda needs is a capable crew to lend a paw or two--or three, four, or more.
Two rhinos, three lemurs, four oryx, and eventually ten crocodiles turn up to help. Soon the animals are finding places to pitch in: bears are carving out burrows, elephants are stomping the way for a playground, and crocodiles are crafting a waterslide.
It seems everyone's got something to do--everyone, that is, except for ten eager bugs. Will they be underestimated for their size or will this be a new kind of zoo where everyone counts?
Judy Sierra's rhymes and Marc Brown's colorful, folk-inspired art lend themselves to themes of counting and teamwork in this new picture book all about how a tiger cub and a whole lot of friends to count on add up to one wonderful zoo.
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year, Outstanding Merit
"The creators of Wild About Books and Wild About You! again demonstrate finely tuned creative teamwork in this nimble tale about cooperation, inclusivity, and the rewards of a job diligently done."--Publishers Weekly
"Sierra's rollicking rhymes are fun to read aloud and listen to, and Brown's gouache and pencil illustrations give children lots of details to pore over. This rhythmic, imaginative romp practically reads itself aloud."--Kirkus
Copies
No copies available.
Imagine That!: How Dr. Seuss Wrote The Cat in the Hat
by Judy Sierra
A lively new picture-book biography of the most beloved children’s book author of all time: Dr. Seuss!
Have you ever wondered how the great Dr. Seuss wrote his most famous book? Did you know that for The Cat in the Hat, he wasn’t allowed to make up the fun words he was known for—like OOBLECK and IT-KUTCH and HIPPO-NO-HUNGUS? He was only allowed to use words from a very strict list!
This bouncy account of the early career of Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. Ted Geisel) proves that sometimes limitations can be the best inspiration of all.
Kid-friendly prose (with Seussian rhyme for Ted’s dialogue) and whimsical illustrations by award winner Kevin Hawkes recall the work of Dr. Seuss himself. Writing tips from Dr. Seuss and exclusive letters from the author and illustrator, detailing how they created this book, are included!
Copies
No copies available.
The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story
by Judy Sierra
In the Spice Islands, where clove and nutmeg trees grow,
a girl named Damura lived long ago.
Damura is a beautiful girl, as kind and lovely as the little green parrot that perches on the nutmeg tree. But Damura's stepmother and stepsister mistreat her. They force her to rise before dawn, carry out all the chores, and sleep on the floor. One day, while down by the river, Damura calls out to the creatures of the wild for help. Rising from the waters, an ancient crocodile answers the call.
This unusual fairy godmother, aptly named Grandmother Crocodile, outfits Damura in a sarong of gold, with slippers to match, and sends her to the palace to dance for the prince. Once he sees her, the prince knows that she will be his bride.
But the fairy tale isn't quite over. Damura's wicked stepmother and stepsister are so jealous that they push Damura into the river, where she is swallowed by a crocodile!
The Gift of the Crocodile, a tale from the Spice Islands in Indonesia, offers a colorful and dramatic twist on the universally adored Cinderella story.
Copies
No copies available.
Gruesome Guide to World Monsters
by Judy Sierra
Make room in your suitcase for this monstrously entertaining guide to fantastic creatures around the world — and how to elude them.
I did not make any of this up.
Do you know why you should have baby teeth handy when visiting the Midwest? Or why you should bring a cucumber with you when swimming in Japan? How good are you at solving Russian riddles? From Boston to Bejing, from Moscow to Mali, any place you visit has its own terrifying tales of very real creatures. Complete with handy "gruesomeness ratings," this guide offers all the important facts on some sixty-three folkloric monsters and how (if possible!) to survive an encounter with them. Meticulously researched by Judy Sierra and illustrated in grotesque detail by Henrik Drescher, here is the ultimate resource for any world traveler, armchair or otherwise, hoping to make it home alive.
Copies
No copies available.
EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen
by Judy Sierra
The Little Red Hen gives old MacDonald some pointers on composting — and a legendary farm is born — in this rhyming, rollicking read-aloud.
Once upon a time, Old MacDonald didn’t have a farm. He just had a yard — a yard he didn’t want to mow. But under the direction of the wise (and ecologically sensitive) Little Red Hen, Mac learns to look at the environment in a very different way, and whole new worlds start to bloom with the help of some mud, garbage, horse poop, and worms! Judy Sierra’s spirited verse, paired with Matthew Myers’s exuberant illustrations, yields a fresh take on a children’s classic, complete with raised-bed gardens and an organic farmers’ market — making this a perfect story for armchair gardeners and devoted locavores of all sizes.
Copies
No copies available.
The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School (Paula Wiseman Books)
by Judy Sierra
The tale of a science project gone terribly, hilariously wrong. For ages 4 and up.
Students, heed this little rhyme:
When it's science project time,
Do not make goop,
or glop,
or grime,
And never mess with
mutant slime.
Copies
No copies available.
The Great Dictionary Caper
by Judy Sierra
“Teachers will have field day with this wordplay; this caper is clever, capricious, and cunning.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Bored with sitting in a dictionary ‘day in, day out,’ the words make a break for it and organize a parade which…introduce linguistics terminology in just about the most playful way possible.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This is a charming, peppy introduction, enhanced by Comstock’s energetic, retro-flair illustrations, which fill the pages with cavorting words and creative details…In approach and format, this is both entertaining and educational—likely to hold and pique kids’ interest in the topic and provide a fun learning supplement.” —Booklist (starred review)
When all of the words escape from the dictionary, it’s up to Noah Webster to restore alphabetical order in this supremely wacky picture book that celebrates language.
Words have secret lives. On a quiet afternoon the words escape the dictionary (much to the consternation of Mr. Noah Webster) and flock to Hollywood for a huge annual event—Lexi-Con. Liberated from the pages, words get together with friends and relations in groups including an onomatopoeia marching band, the palindrome family reunion, and hide-and-seek antonyms. It’s all great fun until the words disagree and begin to fall apart. Can Noah Webster step in to restore order before the dictionary is disorganized forever?
Copies
No copies available.