Tony Johnston

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Tony Johnston's Latest Book

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  • Bibliography:
    93 Books
  • First Book:
    August 1972
  • Latest Book:
    July 2022
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Book List in Order: 93 titles

  • Adventures of Mole and Troll

  • Fig Tale

  • Mole and Troll Trim the Tree

  • Little Mouse Nibbling

    As a lonely, shy mouse sits nibbling at Christmastime, wishing she could see the snowy outdoors, a black cricket introduces her to the forest, and they watch Christmas carolers make their way to the mouse's door...

  • The Vanishing Pumpkin

    A classic Halloween story about a pumpkin gone missing is certain to delight readers of all ages!When a 700-year-old woman and an 800-year-old man want to make pumpkin pie on Halloween, they can’t find their pumpkin. “Our pumpkin’s been snitche...

  • Whale Song

  • Yonder

  • Pages of Music

    First published in 1988, this gentle picture book set in Sardinia features refreshed illustrations by the beloved and award-winning Tomie dePaola and tells of the giving and sharing of music on a very special Christmas morning.Long ago, a painter and...

  • Adv Mole & Troll



  • Happy Birthday, Mole And Troll

  • Night Noises & Other Mole & Troll Storie

  • The Soup Bone

  • Grandpa's Song

  • Little Bear Sleeping

  • Goblin Walk

  • The Witch's Hat

  • The Green Gourd: A North Carolina Folktale

    Plucking a green gourd before it is ripe, a North Carolina woman finds herself pursued over mountains and through rivers and valleys by the gourd and she must rely on the smarts of a little boy to help her....

  • Vanishing Pumpkin San

    "There can never be enough Halloween stories. This one is appealing, participatory, fast-paced, and a delight in the telling. A 700-year-old woman and an 800-year-old man, both witches, search out their lost pumpkin only to find it under the hat of a...

  • Lorenzo the Naughty Parrot

    Lorenzo, a green parrot who lives in a Mexican garden, serves as a watchbird, protecting his family from birthday party guests, presents, and even San Nicola+a7s on Christmas Eve. By the author of Slther McCreep and His Brother, Joe. ...



  • The Promise

  • Last Snow of Winter

  • Little Rabbit Goes to Sleep

  • The Old Lady and the Birds

    An elderly woman sits under a pepper tree in her Mexican garden and enjoys a musical day in the sun, in a captivating, brightly illustrated story, by the author of Lorenzo the Naughty Parrot. ...

  • Three Little Bikers

  • Alice Nizzy Nazzy

    In a whimsical "Baba Yaga meets Santa Fe" tale, young Manuela finds herself in the cooking pot of Alice Nizzy Nazzy, and when all attempts to win her freedom fail, Manuela is spared because good children taste bad to witches. BOMC Main....

  • The Iguana Brothers

  • Little Wild Parrot

  • Very Scary

  • Fishing Sunday

    A young boy, originally embarrassed by the traditions of his Japanese grandfather, comes to an understanding one day as he observes him during a fishing trip and notes that the old man and his ways are not silly at all but are actually rather magical...



  • The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea

    This hilarious retelling of The Princess and the Pea with a Wild West twist is perfect for a read-aloud!

    Farethee Well is a woman of strong mind and bodacious beauty, but when suitors come to ask for her hand in marriage, can she tell a real ...

  • The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe

  • How Many Miles to Jacksonville?

    For the narrator, his sister, and his best friend, an approaching T&NO train means flattening Indian pennies on the tracks, sitting on the plush seats of emptied-out cars, and checking the aisles for leftover sugar candy, and when the train pulls out...

  • The Bull and the Fire Truck

  • The Magic Maguey

    The people of the pueblo like the huge maguey that grows on the land of Don César. But Miguel likes it most of all. To him it is the best plant in the world. So at Christmastime, when Don César threatens to chop down the maguey to make room for a v...

  • Slither McCreep and His Brother, Joe

    Sibling rivalry exists even between snakes, and Slither and Joe McCreep are no exceptions. “Some of the pictures-whether of the mother entangled on the telephone or of brother Joe leering at his favorite rock group, Bal Boa and the Vindow Vipers, h...

  • We Love the Dirt

    An early reader storybook is set on a small farm and explores how the farmer, the pig, the frog, the cricket, the earthworm, the tree, the flower, and the scarecrow each involve themselves with the dirt in a special way. Original....

  • Four Scary Stories

  • The First Day of School

  • The Chizzywink and the Alamagooalum



  • The Rodeo

    The two first-grade friends from Sparky and Eddie: The First Day of School return to learn a valuable lesson about winning and losing when they compete against each other in the school rodeo. Simultaneous....

  • Amber on the Mountain

    Amber's mountain is beautiful, but it is a lonely place -- until the day Anna arrives, bringing both her friendship and the will to teach Amber how to read. Suddenly, Amber's world is filled with a new magic and new challenges. But when Anna returns ...

  • The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote

    Poor Coyote! What’s he doing, hanging upside down in the farmer’s house, next to a pot of boiling water? How’d he wind up underneath the jicara tree, getting bonked by rock-hard fruit? Who tricked him into whacking a wasps’ nest with a stick?...

  • Wagon

    A young boy is sustained by his family as he endures the difficulties of being a slave, but when he finally gains his freedom, his joy is tempered by the death of President Lincoln. Reprint. 15,000 first printing....

  • Trouble with Rats

  • Big Red Apple

    Scholastic Reader: Level 3

  • Day of the Dead

    Above a small town in Mexico, the sun rises like a great marigold, and one family begins preparations for an annual celebration, El día de los muertos, the Day of the Dead. Soon they will go out into the night, join their neighbors, and walk to the ...

  • Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella

    In the old growth forest, a dashing Bigfoot prince searches for his Bigfoot princess. Rrrrrella, who also lives in the forest, would be a perfect match. But can she get past her ugly stepsisters to win the prince's heart? Full-color illustrations....

  • Uncle Rain Cloud

    In this inspiring story, young Carlos learns that change effects everyone, even his uncle. Uncle Tomàs does not speak English and does not adjust well to his new life in Los Angeles. To him, English is "El Blah-blah," and he is frustrated and ashame...

  • My Best Friend Bear



  • Barn Owls

    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 sli...

  • Desert Dog

    "I'm a desert dog, a desert dog. / I work from sun to sun. / I'm a skinny dog, as tough as wire. / I own myself alone." In a voice as old and earthy as desert rock, a gruff, hard-working canine tells his tale of a day spent herding goats. From the mo...

  • Gopher up Your Sleeve

  • The Sunsets of the West

    When Pa decides to leave New Hampshire for a new life in the west, the family packs up and gets on the move, but their journey becomes more treacherous than they had expected and they have to stay united to make the trip successful....

  • Friends No Matter What

    When Possum, a grey creature who enjoys his cabbage, meets up with a multi-colored alien who dines on high voltage, an unexpected and special friendship forms in this easy reader with full-color illustrations. Reprint....

  • Alien and Possum: Hanging Out

    Ready-to-Read Level 3 Reading Proficiently Rich vocabulary More-challenging stories Longer chapters Possum loves hanging upside down. It makes him feel new. When Alien tries hanging upside down, the electricity rushes to its head. But these friends s...

  • Any Small Goodness

    Award-winning picture-book author Tony Johnston presents the poignant story of a loving Mexican-American family in East L.A. in her first novel for young readers.Los Angeles is a place of movie stars and fast cars and people who are too rich and peop...

  • Go Track A Yak!

    Boo-hoo-hoo! Baby hasn't a thing to eat. Mama and Papa don't know what to do. POOF! A witch appears. She knows what to do, but she's not telling. Not until Mama and Papa promise her her heart's desire! When the blubbering parents agree, the witch sen...

  • Isabel's House of Butterflies, hc

    Outside her home in Michoacan, Mexico, grows eight-year-old Isabel's greatest treasure: an oyamel tree. Here, every autumn, a miracle happens-for Isabel's tree is the wintering place for thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies that migrate fr...

  • A Kenya Christmas

  • The Mummy's Mother

    Popular author Tony Johnston's second novel follows a mummy boy from the pyramids of Egypt to a famous museum in New York City as he searches for his mummy mom in this clever, funny book.

    A young mummy boy named Ramose is awakened one day by t...

  • The Harmonica

    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 Johnst...

  • 10 Fat Turkeys

    This silly rhyming story about ten turkeys teaches children how to count backwards."Looky!" says a silly turkey swinging from a vine. Gobble gobble wibble wobble.Whoops! Now there are nine.Girls and boys will gobble up this hilarious story about ten ...

  • The Worm Family

    The Worm family loves being wormy. They're skinny--they're squiggly--they're very long--and they sing loud worm songs. They're nothing like their glossy, bossy, buggy neighbors. And the neighbors don't like that one bit. What are the Worms to do? Jum...

  • Chicken in The Kitchen

    A restless little chicken is flap, flap, flapping her way through a kitchen. But why is she there? What could she be looking for?

    Follow the excitement and find out all the little reasons that have driven this chicken to peck and pick and pok...

  • The Whole Green World

    Come and dance the whole green world!

    I've got a little pair of shoes.
    (Comfy, cozy little shoes.)
    Got a little pair of shoes
    to walk the whole round world.

    After putting on her red shoes, a girl and her shaggy dog set out to p...

  • Isabel's House of Butterflies

    Outside her home in Michoacán, Mexico, grows eight-year-old Isabel's greatest treasure: an oyamel tree. Every autumn, a miracle happens-for Isabel's tree is the wintering place for thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies that migrate from th...

  • Angel City

  • Sticky People

  • The Spoon In The Bathroom Wall

    SCHOOL'S GETTING WEIRDER BY THE GIANT SPOONFUL! The Bloggins School boiler room isn't glamorous, but it's home-steamy-home for Martha Snapdragon, the janitor's daughter. Life at Bloggins has never been exactly normal, but lately, things have taken...

  • That Summer

    A young boy's summer begins like every other summer . . . but everything changes when his family finds out that his younger brother, Joey, is dying. Tony Johnston's poignant words and Barry Moser's intimate pictures invite us to share the experience ...

  • Off To Kindergarten

    Award-winning author Tony Johnston and Caldecott honor illustrator Melissa Sweet create a joyful story about the first day of kindergarten!"I'm off to kindergarten now.I'd better take my bear.He likes to sit beside me soI'll take a little chair. . . ...

  • Bone by Bone by Bone

    FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK in 1950s Tennessee. Tony Johnston draws on her own childhood memories to limn a portrait of a sensitive and compassionate boy fighting for a friendship his father forbids.David's daddy is determined that his son wi...

  • The Quilt Story

    After a move to a new home, comfort comes from a surprising place.Long ago, a young girl named Abigail put her beloved patchwork quilt in the attic. Generations later, another young girl discovers the quilt and makes it her own, relying on its warmth...

  • Cat, What Is That?

    In clever, teasing verse and minutely observed paintings, Johnston and Minor offer a loving and lovely tribute to our feline friends. These playful meditations invite us to explore the many moods and passions of tabbies and calicos, animals whose fam...

  • My Abuelita

    Winner of a 2010 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor!Abuelita’s hair is the color of salt. Her face is as crinkled as a dried chile. She booms out words as wild as blossoms blooming. She stuffs hercarcacha—her jalopy—with all the thing...

  • Desert Song

    A picture-book classic available for the first time in paperback.

    When day is done, the sun streaks the desert sky with flame. Soon the stars come out, and with them, a host of creatures. Bats spill from a hillside cave; insects seek out t...

  • Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea

    Wild West chaos and creative problem solving are the force behind a well-loved American institution. What’s a California miner to do when gold dust sifts right out of his holey pockets? With such a raggedy wardrobe, he may as well be mining in t...

  • Laugh-Out-Loud Baby

    From Caldecott Medalist Stephen Gammell and beloved writer Tony Johnston, this joyous picture book celebrates the sound of a baby’s laughter. The family gathers round to hear the sweet sound of the new baby’s sweet laugh! But just because ever...

  • The Cat with Seven Names

    In a busy urban neighborhood, six very different individuals who don’t know each other have something in common: they all relish the companionship of a friendly cat that roams the area. From a librarian to a homeless war veteran to a little girl wh...

  • Winter Is Coming

    Witness the changing of a season through a watchful child’s eyes in this story of nature and discovery from award-winning author Tony Johnston and New York Times Best Illustrated artist Jim La Marche. Day after day, a girl goes to her favorite p...

  • First Grade, Here I Come!

    From award-winning author Tony Johnston and David Walker comes the perfect book for first time First Graders! Kindergarten? Done! "I'm zooming off to first grade now. I need about five friends to play good games like hide-and-sneak and where...

  • A Small Thing . . . But Big

    Lizzie and her mom go to the park. That's where Lizzie meets an elderly man and his companion, Cecile, a dog about her size. But Lizzie is afraid of dogs, so she'll have to rely on her new friend to help her take things one step at a time. Get...

  • Loving Hands

    Loving hands lift, carry, hold, and give in a tender meditation on the everlasting bond between a parent and a child. Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, "I am here for you always." In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston...

  • Spencer and Vincent, the Jellyfish Brothers

    When two jellyfish brothers are separated at sea it takes all of the ocean’s creatures to help them reunite in this heartwarming tale of brotherly love. Spencer and Vincent are jellyfish brothers who live together in the sea, their wet and shini...

  • Beast Rider

    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, ...

  • The Magic of Letters

    Letters are MAGIC. When you know their secrets, like a bright bird, you take flight. Hop along with a playful rabbit emcee and see for yourself!

    Letters are everywhere in this delightful book that embraces the power of words and what they can ...

  • Hey, Dog

    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 o...

  • Puma Dreams

    “A lovely, beautifully illustrated story of a child's dream fulfilled.” -- Kirkus Reviews “Beautifully illustrated with a strong conservation message.” -- School Library Journal “A lyrical panoramic beauty of a book.” -- BookPageFrom a...

  • Trees

    Explore a fantastical forest in this exquisite and lyrical picture book that celebrates all trees, from maple to elm to ginkgo to magnolia to redwood -- written by award-winning author Tony Johnston.Part poetry, part celebration of nature, each page ...

  • Ten Owies

    A hilarious story about ten silly children who accidently end up with ten silly owies. This big-hearted, positive-minded picture book is an irreverent ode to the most universal of all childhood experiences—the “boo-boo”—and a ...

  • Scary Stories

    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 scal...

  • I'm Gonna Tell Mama I

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • Night Noises and Other Mole and Troll Stories

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Tony Johnston has published 93 books.

Tony Johnston does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, Scary Stories, was published in July 2022.

The first book by Tony Johnston, Adventures of Mole and Troll, was published in August 1972.

No. Tony Johnston does not write books in series.
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