Most Popular Books by Tony Johnston

In her garden in Mexico, an old lady enjoys watching the birds and warning the cat to leave them alone.

Science Fiction Film examines one of the most enduring and popular genres of Hollywood cinema, suggesting how the science fiction film reflects attitudes toward science, technology, and reason as they have evolved in American culture over the course of the twentieth century. J. P. Telotte provides a survey of science fiction film criticism, emphasizing humanist, psychological, ideological, feminist, and postmodern critiques. He also sketches a history of the genre, from its earliest literary manifestations to the present, while touching on and comparing it to pulp fiction, early television science fiction, and Japanese anim. Telotte offers in-depth readings of three key films: Robocop, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and THX 1138, each of which typifies a particular form of science fiction fantasy. Challenging the boundaries usually seen between high and low culture, literature and film, Science Fiction Film reasserts the central role of fantasy in popular films, even those concerned with reason, science, and technology.

Retells, in tall-tale fashion, how Levi Strauss went to California during the Gold Rush, saw the need for a sturdier kind of trouser, and invented jeans.

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 in his nimble talons. With outstretched wings, this barn owl returns to his barn nest and his hungry family, repeating the ageless ritual his ancestors have practiced here, in this barn, for at least one hundred years. Following the life cycle of the barn owl, this gentle poem evokes a sense of warm sunshine and envelopes readers with the memory of the scent of a wheat field.

In Beast Rider, award-winning author Tony Johnston and psychotherapistMaria Elena Fontanot de Rhoads “offer a sympathetic, illuminating portrait of the challenges faced by one undocumented immigrant” (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review). 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 work, and eventually boost him back onto the train. When he finally arrives in LA and is reunited with his brother, he is elated. But the longer he’s there, the more he realizes that something isn’t right. Thrilling and heartfelt, Beast Rider is a coming-of-age story that reveals how a place and its people help to define you.

Eddie''s best friend Sparky saves the day when Eddie''s prized collection of bugs is eaten by one of the exhibits at the school science fair.

Counting as they sing, whales use their mighty voices to pass on to one another the numbers from one to ten.

In this whimsical picture book with illustrations by beloved award-winning illustrator Tomie dePaola, the classic Russian Baba Yaga witch story gets an American twist. In Santa Fe, young Manuela finds herself in the cooking pot of Alice Nizzy Nazzy. Can she escape the hungry witch’s clutches? Manuela bravely tries to win her freedom unaware of one important rule: witches don’t like the taste of good children.

“Easily shareable with sibs of different ages, and they’ll be delighted to join in on the goofy brotherly song.” —Bulletin Center Children’s Books (starred review) “Poetic, unusual vocabulary…make the text fun to read aloud.” —Booklist “Johnston writes in a quirky, sweet voice that keeps the narrative moving along…watercolors by Dove have a cheery vintage feel.” —Publishers Weekly 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 shining home. They invented a little song which went like this: My brother, my brother, he’s sweet, not smelly. I love him from down in my jelly belly. One day a wave of superior magnitude separates them! The brothers know they have to do whatever it takes to find each other again. And they’ll need some help along the way… Sometimes friends can really make a the difference. Spencer and Vincent is a story of adventures and the bond of family.

Mole and Troll learn several lessons about friendship in these four stories.

A little goblin has a series of frightening experiences while walking through the woods to his grandmother''s house.

Sway to the sounds, reach for the colors, dance to the rhythms, and you will find your own Mexico in these poems in both English and Spanish. "Johnston regales the senses with idyllic scenes of streets lined with a rainbow of adobe houses, with the scent of roses growing in coffee cans and lilies in chile jars, and with the sounds of fields of corn shaking quietly in the warm wind. The overall impression is one of sunbaked cheerfulness, warmth, and color ably reinforced by Sierra''s pastel-tinted artwork." --The Horn Book

“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.” —BookPage From award-winning duo Tony Johnston and Jim LaMarche comes a stunning, lyrical picture book about a girl’s desire to see an elusive California puma in the wild that includes interesting facts about this beautiful and threatened animal. A girl visiting her grandmother longs for a glimpse of the solitary and rarely seen puma. Her grandmother tells her that if she’s patient, one day her wish will come true. But patience is hard, the girl thinks. So, the girl and her grandmother stand watch each day, and then finally, without warning, she sees the beautiful animal from afar. Knowing she may never see a puma again, she now knows it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect these increasingly threatened animals.

This version of the familiar story in which a mistreated step-child finds happiness with the "man" of her dreams is set in the old-growth forest and features Bigfoot characters.

When a young girl''s beloved, exuberant grandfather becomes forgetful, she helps him by singing their favorite song.

The humorous pair from "Alien and Possum: Friends No Matter What" are still "hanging out" and they''re even better friends than before. Full color.

In Colonial Massachusetts, the ghost of a recently buried farmer haunts his widow''s house after a dog takes one of his bones on a long journey.

Eight-year-old Isabel hopes that her plan will spare her favorite tree, keep the butterflies coming, and provide an income for her poor family in Mexico.

Miguel figures out a way to save the beloved maguey plant in his Mexican pueblo.

Lizzie meets an elderly man and his companion Cecile at the park, but Lizzie''s afraid of dogs, so she relies on her new friend to help her take things one step at a time.

Follows the adventures of three bicyclists as they ride through the countryside.

A tough silent dog works in the desert, taking care of his goats.

Living in the Bloggins School boiler room isn''t glamorous, but that''s life for Martha Snapdragon, daughter of the beleaguered janitor. Life only gets weirder when Martha realizes bizarre events are afoot at the school. There''s the dastardly dealings of evil principal Dr. Klunk and school bully Rufus. There''s the dozen dancing eggs and the misbehaving dragons, property of the mysterious science teacher. And then there''s the strangest thing of all: a giant golden spoon that simply appears one day, stuck in the wall of the school bathroom. Although everyone tries, only Martha is able to extract the spoon from the wall--an act that leads her to a destiny far beyond her meager life in the boiler room. Tony Johnston''s funny, magical story spoofs the legend of The Sword in the Stone—and conveys some poignant truths about teaching, leadership, and the responsibilities we have to one another.

Publisher Description

Looking for a soup bone on Halloween, a little old lady finds a hungry skeleton instead.

Thanatourism is an important new overview of the growing field. It introduces more rigorous scholarship, new philosophical perspectives and a wealth of empirical material on the contemporary and historical consumption of death with case studies designed to stretch and challenge current discourse.

In this book we learn about the various life cycles that result from the apple tree.

Young snake Slither McCreep, angry because his brother Joe will not share his toys with him, reacts by breaking them and then feels remorse.

Possum and Alien become friends and find that they have both similarities and differences.

With the rhythmic cadences of an old-time spiritual, this unforgettable book powerfully evokes the voices of slavery and liberation. Full-color.

Dom and Tom, the iguana brothers, eat flowers, pretend to be dinosaurs, and discover that they can be best friends.

In this story told in verse, a yawning bear tries to convince his mother that it isn''t time for bed.

A rhyming story about ten turkeys sitting on a fence.

As the plum tree changes in the passing seasons so do the lives of a three-generation farm family.

When two best friends compete in a mock rodeo at school, they learn that winning is not everything.

Neighbours, 20 years on Ramsay Street, is an entertaining and comprehensive history of this very popular Australian television series, a favourite with British TV audiences for two decades. Through its pages, fans will relive the highs and lows of their favourite families, individual characters and evergreen cast members. The book is highly pictorial and includes year-by-year plot synopses, previously unpublished photographs of cast and crew and other behind the scenes material that will enthral the more than three million UK fans of the show. It includes revealing first person recollections from some of the biggest stars, past and present, and enough facts to keep a dedicated trivia buff happy for months!

A pioneer mother lovingly stitches a beautiful quilt which warms and comforts her daughter Abigail; many years later another mother mends and patches it for her little girl.