Tony Johnston

Illustrations and easy-to-read text reveal the secrets of letters, including their power to create words of all kinds.

Lizzie and her mom are on their way to the park. That's where she meets a kindly, if timid, old man and Cecile, a dog just about her size. But Lizzie is afraid of dogs, and she has to rely on her new friend to help her take it one step at a time. Learning to take a walk with a dog. It's a small thing...but big! --

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.

Twelve-year-old Manuel leaves his small town in Mexico to join his older brother in Los Angeles. To cross the US border, he must become a "beast rider"—someone who hops on a train. The first time he tries, he is stopped by the Mexican police, who arrest and beat him. When he tries again, he is attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead. Just when Manuel is ready to turn back, he finds new hope. Villagers clothe and feed him, help him find

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The country of Mexico has long been a popular travel destination. But there's much more to enjoy and appreciate than just sunshine and warm temperatures when exploring this region with its ancient history and proud traditions. Enjoy an A-Z tour of our neighbor to the south in P is for Piñata: A Mexico Alphabet. Young readers can visit the tomb of a Mayan king, experience the life of the vaquero (Mexican cowboy), attend the world-famous Ballet Folklórico...

The beauty and spirit of Christmas resounds in the melodic chimes of a church bell in this lyrical picture book by well-known author Tony Johnston with breathtaking illustrations by watercolor artist Cheng-Khee Chee. On Christmas Eve, people bundle up in the cold and follow the sounds of the bell to gather in celebration. Creatures great-children, dogs, cats, and birds-and small stop to listen as a brass band marches through town. The poetry and imagery...

When the Nazis invaded Poland, a family is split apart. The parents are sent to one concentration camp, their son to another. Only his father's gift, a harmonica, keeps the boy's hopes alive and, miraculously, ensures his survival. Tony Johnston's powerful story, inspired by the life of a Holocaust survivor, is enhanced by Ron Mazellan's luminous artwork. A testament to the human spirit and the transcendent power of music.

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...

A 700-year-old woman and an 800-year-old man, both witches, go searching on Halloween night for the pumpkin someone snitched from them.

"Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, I am here for you always. In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston pens a timeless ode to parenthood. The small moments and quiet scenes that make up childhood--learning to clap, planting a garden, waving good-bye on the first day of school--fill the pages of this gentle tale, capturing the reassurance and love that parents hand their children every day. Warm illustrations by Amy June Bates...