Most Popular Books by Bonnie Christensen

With a little help from a watering can, bright sunlight, and a lot of patience, two friends plant seeds in their community garden and watch how they grow. Slowly, the seeds turn into sprouts, which grow into stems, followed by leaves and buds! The garden will soon be teeming with life and ready for a harvest season celebration. But until then, the children water and wait and dream . . .

An only child, a mama''s boy-Elvis was a shy kid who struggled to make friends and found comfort singing in church and learning guitar. While in high school, he continued his music but was often ridiculed by students. On a whim, he recorded a song for his mom''s birthday at Sun Record Studios as part of a customer promotion. The studio loved it so much that they sent it to local record stations . . . and the rest is history. Here is the story of how a poor kid from Tupelo, Mississippi, became an American legend.

Born into a travelling gypsy family, young Django Reinhardt taught himself guitar at an early age. He was soon acclaimed as the "Gypsy Genius" and "Prodigy Boy," but one day his world changed completely when a fire claimed the use of his fretting hand. Folks said Django would never play again, but with passion and perserverance he was soon setting the world''s concert stages ablaze. Bonnie Christensen''s gorgeous oil paintings and jazzy, syncopated text perfectly depict the man and his music.

In 9th century China, a little girl sends a small jade pebble to travel with her father along the Silk Road. The pebble passes from his hand all the way to the Republic of Venice, the end of the Silk Road, where a boy cherishes it and sees the value of this gift from a girl at the end of the road. A Neal Porter Book

"Tracing the story of Red Lodge from the 1880s to the present, Christensen tells how a mining town managed to endure the vagaries of the West''s unpredictable extractive-industries economy. She connects Red Lodge to a myriad of larger events and historical forces to show how national and regional influences have contributed to the development of local identities, exploring how and why westerners first rejected and then embraced "western" images, and how ethnicity, wilderness, and historic preservation became part of the identity that defined one town."--BOOK JACKET.

Acclaimed author-illustrator Bonnie Christensen adopts the voice of Galileo and lets him tell his own tale in this outstanding picture book biography. The first person narration gives this book a friendly, personal feel that makes Galileo''s remarkable achievements and ideas completely accessible to young readers. And Christensen''s artwork glows with the light of the stars he studied. Galileo''s contributions were so numerous—the telescope! the microscope!—and his ideas so world-changing—the sun-centric solar system!—that Albert Einstein called him "the father of modern science." But in his own time he was branded a heretic and imprisoned in his home. He was a man who insisted on his right to pursue the truth, no matter what the cost—making his life as interesting and instructive as his ideas.

Presents a collection of verses that use pictures in place of some words.

From the award-winning picture book biographer of Woody Guthrie comes the inspirational story of Nellie Bly. Born in 1864, during a time in which options were extremely limited for women, Nellie defied all expectations and became a famous newspaper correspondent. Her daring exploits included committing herself to an infamous insane asylum in New York City to expose the terrible conditions there and becoming the first American war correspondent of either sex to report on the front lines of Austria during World War I. In 1889, Nellie completed her most publicized stunt, her world-famous trip around the world in just 72 days, beating the record of Jules Vernes’ fictional hero in Around the World in 80 Days. With an informative text and pen-and-ink illustrations reminiscent of the graphic style of the late 1800s, The Daring Nellie Bly captures the independent spirit of America’s first star reporter, Nellie Bly.

Christensen tells the remarkable story of artist Andy Warhol, famous Pop Art icon, especially for young readers. Full color.

Biography of the great American folk musician Woody Guthrie.

"A perfectly potent distillation of heart, humor, and hope. This intoxicating story sings on every page." -Tanya Lee Stone, NAACP Image Award Winner & Sibert Medalist Sunshine Ervila Lee Walston may not know how to read, but she''s darn good with her hands and helping out on her family''s cotton farm in 1933 Oklahoma. Trouble is, it doesn''t matter how hard you work if the rain doesn''t come. After the bank takes away her homestead, Sunny and her family move to the small, dusty town of Lark Springs, North Carolina, where they have a chance to start anew. But the incessant drought and threats of foreclosure follows the family to Lark Springs, and it seems that the only way out is an extremely dangerous one-and if Sunny makes just one mistake, there''s more to lose than just the farm. From award-winning children''s book author Bonnie Christensen and her daughter Emily Herder comes a new historical adventure of an unshakable girl who will do anything to save her family. With help from her smarty-pants sister and some new and interesting friends, will Sunny find the courage to do what it takes? How much is she willing to risk to save her family and their life in Lark Springs?

He is not only an astronomer, but also a physicist, mathematician, philosopher... and has set off a major revolution in modern science. He was the pioneer of the scientific revolution and the father of modern science. 1564 AD, this was a world without clocks, thermometers and telescopes. This year was also the year Galileo was born. It is in such a world that Galileo made many new inventions. He used his invented methods of timing and distance measurement to conduct scientific experiments.

Up until the early 1400s, books were hand-lettered with knife-sharpened quills by industrious monks and were so rare and valuable that they were chained to the shelves of monastery libraries. But once the printing press was invented, the world of reading and access to information opened up to everyone, enabling explorers, scientists, and writers to easily share knowledge for the first time. This beautifully illustrated book for young adults, with a clear text, rich in historical details, demonstrates the dramatic impact this invaluable invention had on society. Exquisite wood engravings recall a way of life before the printing press changed the world. "It''s a gorgeous format that does complete justice to the subject." An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists".

Depicts edible plants from Apple to Zucchini by means of wood engravings. Includes descriptive index.