Tony Johnston

When a spaceship crashes nearby, Possum goes to explore and discovers Alien, a cautious creature in a nicely rounded space suit, who overcomes his initial suspicions to become Possum’s pal. A springy pace, lively dialogue, and Alien’s silly sound effects make this an ideal read-aloud.

“Above a small town in Mexico, the sun rises like a great marigold.” So begins one family’s preparation for El día de los muertos. The children are eager to try just a taste of this and that, but everyone says they must wait until the family is ready to take their offerings to the cemetery for a night of celebration and remembrance. The warmth of this story about one of Mexico’s most important traditions shines through the text and illustrations.

Early miners’ pants couldn’t hold up as they dug for gold when the California gold rush started — until a man named Levi Strauss headed west with a “DANG!” good idea! This tall tale version of how Levis (jeans) came into existence is told with verve and humor in both textured illustration and lighthearted text, ideal for reading aloud. It fills in what little is known about the real man.

“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 her carcacha — her jalopy — with all the things she needs: a plumed snake, a castle, a skeleton, and more. Her grandson knows he has the most amazing grandmother ever — with a very important job. What does Abuelita do? Readers will enjoying guessing in this story sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love.” — Amazon Review

He is known by different names by each of the people who feed him, but Regis winds up bringing isolated individuals together to make a real neighborhood. Soft wash illustrations and recognizable characters — including Regis, the well-fed cat — comes together in a gratifying conclusion.

“Letters hold magic…they open worlds.” Playful and rich, powerful, giggling, bewitching words are all presented in different typefaces, playfully illustrated to evoke their command and enchantment. Sure to intrigue, try reading this aloud for full, dynamic effect. You’ll never look at the alphabet in quite the same way!

Coyote howls at the moon because of a small, smart, and very tricky rabbit. This lively retelling of an Oaxacan (Mexico) tale has familiar elements like rabbit becoming stuck on a farmer made of sticky beeswax. The energetic tale is complemented by illustrations reminiscent of folk art.