Judy Sierra, Author, Judy Sierra, Retold by, Victoria Chess, Illustrator Clarion Books $15 (32p) ISBN 978-0-395-90015-4
The team behind Good Night, Dinosaurs here grants a happy ending to the tale of a heroine whose search for a mate traditionally ends with his death. In Sierra's comical version, a beguiling butterfly tests her suitors by asking them to sing. She...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Edward Koren, Illustrator , illus. by Edward Koren. Knopf $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-83218-5
With its outré humor and delectable black-and-white cartoon illustrations (with just a touch of lime green), this "revolting rhyme" fits squarely in the tradition of "poop fiction" and will undoubtedly appeal to the Captain...
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Matthew Myers. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-6043-7
Like his neighbors, this Old MacDonald has a high-maintenance lawn: “MacDonald said, ‘I love my yard,/ but mowing grass is mighty hard.’ ” Enter a remarkable red hen, who is a horticultural expert (her “Resume of Horticultural Fowlishness” includes...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Brian Pinkney, Illustrator Dutton Books $14 (32p) ISBN 978-0-525-67366-8
When ``the mighty elephant'' challenges all animal comers to a wrestling match (`` `No one,' he roared, `can bring me down!' ''), monkey sends out the message on his talking drum. A she-leopard makes the first attempt, but she's felled with a gentle
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Judy Sierra, illus. by J. Otto Siebold, Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-85620-4
Tracksuit-wearing B.B. Wolf makes a return to a trip to the library in this companion to Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, this time to relate a story from his bad old days—that of the three little pigs. Embarrassed about his past actions, he engages in
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Judy Sierra, Author, Meilo So, Illustrator Dragonfly Books $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-440-41738-5
""This retelling of a Japanese fairy tale [in which a girl who is born from the middle of a watermelon has no belly button] is full of sweetness and stars an engaging pint-size heroine,"" said PW. ""Irresistible watercolors effectively combine...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Meilo So, Illustrator Alfred A. Knopf $17 (40p) ISBN 978-0-679-89369-1
Despite the implications of its title, Sierra's retelling of a Japanese fairy tale is full of sweetness, and stars an engaging, pint-size heroine. Uriko, born from the middle of a watermelon, has no belly button. Found by a couple who become her...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Melissa Sweet, Illustrator , illus. by Melissa Sweet. Knopf $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-84002-9
Sierra and Sweet (Schoolyard Rhymes
) collaborate on an alphabet rhyme about rambunctious lower-case letters who won't go to bed (“h tries standing on her head./ i and j jump on the bed”). Bookstore shelves may be crowded with...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Henrik Drescher, Illustrator , illus. by Henrik Drescher. Candlewick $18.99 (63p) ISBN 978-0-7636-1727-1
In this globe-trotting bestiary, Sierra (Wild About Books
) recounts native monster legends and Drescher (Pat the Beastie
) sets the horrific mood with slithery ink sketches. Each monster receives a Gruesomeness Rating (one skull-and-crossbones...
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Marc Brown. Knopf, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86847-4
Teens have Glee, tweens have High School Musical, and with this snappy follow-up to Wild About Books younger siblings can delight in the joy of putting on a show. When the book opens, the "midwinter doldrums" have descended on the zoo: "Owls did not
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Judy Sierra, Author, Marc Tolon Brown, Illustrator , illus. by Marc Brown. Knopf $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-82538-5
Sierra (Silly and Sillier
) and Brown dedicate this spirited volume to Theodor Seuss Geisel, to whom they give several affectionate nods (including a meter akin to And to Think That I Saw It on
Mulberry Street
). After the Springfield (Dr. Seuss'
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Marc Brown. Knopf, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-307-93178-8
Sierra and Brown return to Springfield Zoo in this baby-themed follow-up to Wild About Books and ZooZical. Sierra’s couplets are as sharp and witty as ever, with a distinct Seussian vibe. Watching other animals with their offspring, a tree kangaroo...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Marc Tolon Brown, Illustrator , illus. by Marc Brown. Knopf $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-375-84687-8
A precocious tot with a carrot-orange cowlick turns into a reading superstar in this whimsical tale with a hammer-it-home message about reading. Young audiences should enjoy the silliness factor that increases with each turn of the page. After...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Jose Aruego, Illustrator, Ariane Dewey, Illustrator , illus. by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey, Harcourt/Voyager $6 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-204602-6
Narrated by an antic pack of penguins, poems like "Antarctic Anthem" ("Antarctica! Antarctica!/ Where winter days are dark-tica") humorously teach readers about life in an emperor penguin colony. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Kevin Hawkes. Random House, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-553-51097-3
“1954 was a great year to be a kid, unless you were trying to learn how to read,” quips Sierra in this look at how Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, endeavored to create a beginning reader “so exciting that [children] couldn’t stop turning the pages.”...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Reynold Ruffins, Illustrator Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-82188-2
Setting this colorful story in the Spice Islands, Sierra (Nursery Tales Around the World) incorporates motifs found in Cinderella folktales from various parts of the world as well as elements of Diamonds and Toads-type fables. Overworked by her...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Liz Van Doren, Editor, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator , illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Harcourt/Gulliver $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-201805-4
'Twas the night before Christmas and not only is a mouse stirring, he is delivering gifts to a haunted house and driving a sleigh powered by eight tiny bats in Sierra and Hillenbrand's (collaborators for The House that Drac Built)
gigglishly
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Judy Sierra, Author, Jack E. Davis, Illustrator , illus. by Jack E. Davis. Harcourt/Gulliver $16 (56p) ISBN 978-0-15-202034-7
Sierra (There's a Zoo in Room 22) and Davis (Bedhead) replace storybook characters with their ghoulish alter egos in this silly-scary Mother Goose knockoff. Every spread presents one revised rhyme and pictures the comical doppelgänger of a...
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Judy Sierra, illus. by G. Brian Karas. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4814-1851-5
Sierra returns to the subject of Wild About Books and Born to Read with another exuberant celebration of reading, this time focusing on the joys of a good read-aloud session. As the story opens, young animals ride scooters, skateboards, and bikes to
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Judy Sierra, Author, Valeri Gorbachev, Illustrator , illus. by Valeri Gorbachev. Knopf $19.95 (96p) ISBN 978-0-375-80609-4
In this spirited collection, reteller Sierra (Nursery Tales from Around the World;
and its sequel, Can You Guess My Name?: Traditional Tales Around the World, noted below) once again rounds up a bevy of brief, traditional tales. Here, 20 stories...
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Tim Bowers. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-86720-0
Sierra and Bowers team up for a slightly different take on the dinosaurs plus manners theme that has been well covered by the How Do Dinosaurs... series. There’s no bad behavior on display in this outing: when a small girl meets a T-Rex who’s...
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Judy Sierra, Author, J. Otto Seibold, Illustrator , illus. by J. Otto Seibold. Knopf $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-83532-2
Sierra (Wild About Books
) and Seibold (Olive, the Other Reindeer
) install story-book characters in a retirement community for this peaceable spoof. As envisioned in Seibold’s witty digital style, B.B. Wolf occupies a condo at the Villain...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Stephen Gammell, Illustrator , illus. by Stephen Gammell. S&S/Wiseman $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4169-1175-3
Caldecott medalist Gammell (Song and Dance Man
) provides a humorous and hyperbolic visual interpretation of Sierra's (Wild About Books
) silly, spirited story. The bespectacled, wild-haired young narrator is grouchy because she has yet to find...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Victoria Chess, Illustrator Clarion Books $15 (32p) ISBN 978-0-395-65016-5
With a twist on an old lullaby theme, Sierra and Chess offer a fanciful look at what happens when ""the sun [sinks] low / in the Mesozoic sky"" and it [is] ""bedtime- / bedtime for dinosaurs."" In this droll menagerie, two tiny stegosauruses whisper
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Judy Sierra, Author, Victoria Chess, Illustrator , illus. by Victoria Chess. Clarion $5.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-618-19600-5
"With a twist on an old lullaby theme, this volume offers a fanciful look at what happens when 'the sun [sinks] low/ in the Mesozoic sky,' " wrote PW. Ages 3-6. (May)
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Judy Sierra, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator Harcourt Children's Books $17 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-200192-6
Monkey lives on an island occupied by a lone lemon tree (""She ate lemons till she cried,/ `I'm all puckered up inside!' ""). Far away, on a second island, a banana tree grows. In between lies the treacherous Sillabobble Sea, where yellow crocodile...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator Gulliver Books $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-202035-4
""Once there was a mud puddle,"" writes Sierra (Antarctic Antics), ""and it was sleepy, it was creepy, it was deeper-than-you'd-think. When something went into that mud puddle, the mud puddle didn't want to let go."" Hillenbrand (previously paired...
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Judy Sierra, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator , illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Harcourt/Voyager $7 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-205640-7
Not only is a mouse stirring, he is delivering gifts to a haunted house and driving a sleigh powered by eight tiny bats in what PW
called a "gigglishly ghoulish, Halloween-inspired rendition of Moore's Christmas classic." Ages 3-7. (Oct
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Judy Sierra, Author, Will Hillenbrand, Illustrator , illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Harcourt/Voyager $7 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-216356-3
How Monkey gets from his small island to a faraway island where a banana tree grows may be a familiar dilemma but, as PW
wrote in a starred review, "Author and artist, working with traditional materials, arrive at an altogether fresh...
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Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Author, Judy Sierra, Author, Jesse Sweetwater, Illustrator Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P $16 (0p) ISBN 978-0-15-201521-3
""My mother says you can ask the ocean to bring you something. If you look, she says, you might find it,"" begins this picture book tribute to the sea. While the child covets such tangible ""treasures"" as sea glass, pelican feathers and a note-fille
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Eric Comstock. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4814-8004-8
Bored with sitting in a dictionary “day in, day out,” the words make a break for it and organize a parade—which lets Sierra (Wild About You!) and Comstock (the Charlie Piechart series) introduce linguistics terminology in just about the most playful
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Judy Sierra, illus. by Marc Brown. Knopf, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-525-64620-4
The double meaning of its title sets the clever tenor of this book’s contents, as playful cumulative verse and peppy gouache and pencil illustrations reveal a menagerie of industrious critters transforming an abandoned mall into a zoo. One tiger cub
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