Ezra Jack Keats

Winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, Keats' story of a young boy experiencing the year's first snowfall has delighted millions of readers. Peter, The Snowy Day's protagonist, wakes up to the season’s first snowfall. In his bright red snowsuit, he goes outside and makes footprints and trails through the snow. Peter is too young to join a snowball fight with older kids, so he makes a snowman and snow angels and slides down a hill. He returns home with a snowball stashed in his pocket. Before he goes to bed, Peter is sad to discover the snowball has melted. The next day, he wakes up to tons more falling snow. With a friend, he ventures outside again.

An old nursery poem introduces animals and their young and the numbers one through ten.

A dog and cat dance their way through several countries.

Two friends almost give up their efforts to learn to roller skate until they have an opportunity to help someone.

On a rainy day two brothers try to discover who is playing the harmonica they hear in their apartment building.

After a rainstorm, Clementina and her father discover a surprise in the prickly skin of the cactus that they've watched growing in the desert.

"A collection of poetically phrased insights into spiritual experience gathered from many different religions of the world ... reveals the many forms taken by God in the beliefs of diverse peoples."

With the help of his imagination, his parents, and a few scraps of junk, Louie and his friends travel through space.

Since it was first published in 1964, Whistle for Willie has delighted millions of young readers with its nearly wordless text and its striking collage artwork depicting the story of Peter, who longs to whistle for his dog. The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Keats' illustrations boldly, colorfully capture the child, his city world, and the shimmering heat of a summer's day." - Publisher.

A puppy joins a litter of kittens in their fun for a day.

Susie and Roberto's puppet show is temporarily interrupted when Louie becomes fascinated by one of the puppets.

"Tia Maria's Garden" is about a child's visit to his aunt's. The reader quickly discovers that Tia Maria's garden is the Sonoran Desert, which lies just beyond the home. Walking around, the youngster sees saguaros, chollas, jackrabbits, washes and prickly pear cacti. The book is beautifully written and can be appreciated by third graders and up. The author was well up to the task of writing this book. A New Mexico resident, Ann Nolan Clark (Newbery Award winner) had already published books on the desert. The text is written as poetry. While the language is poetic, the book also instructs the reader on what's out in the desert. It inspires the reader to explore wild places. In this respect, a comparison can be made with Byrd Baylor's "Desert Voices" and "The Desert Is Theirs." This was initially published the same year that the illustrator (Ezra Jack Keats) won the Caldecott Medal for "The Snowy Day." The illustrations are simple pencil drawings. Despite being created by two of the greats of their day, "Tia Maria's Garden" is out-of-print and mostly forgotten. It is the illustrations that date the title. In this respect, "Tia Maria's Garden" may best be appreciated by those with an interest in vintage desert books.

An illustrated version of the Christmas carol about the procession to Bethlehem and the offer of a poor boy to play his drum for the Christ Child. Music for the song appears in the back of the book.

When the hat Jennie receives from her aunt is not as fancy as she had hoped, her bird friends decorate it for her.

A collection of ten books by the Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator, with a brief biography and short essays by colleagues--including Jerry Pinkney and Eric Carle--who have been influenced by his work.

Two boys must outsmart the neighborhood bullies before they can enjoy their new treasure, a pair of lensless motorcycle goggles.

Archie's day would have been great if he had not started it by greeting the new cat on the block.