Tony Johnston

A child anticipates the arrival of an old man in red, smelling of pine, spreading crinkling presents late at night.

Each day, from September through November, a girl quietly sitting in the woods with her sketchbook glimpses forest animals seeking food in preparation for the onset of winter, from a fox sniffing the last apple to a flock of wild turkeys that finds nothing.

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.

Two good friends, Possum and Alien, spend time together celebrating their birthdays, discovering their uniqueness, and hanging out together in a tree.

When Manuela's sheep are stolen, she has to go to Alice Nizzy Nazzy's talking road-runner-footed adobe house and try to get the witch to give the flock back, in a Southwestern version of the Baba Yaga story.

Even though they are not in the same class, two young friends are glad that they decided to give school a try.

With great gusto, a child's grandmother performs deep knee bends, consumes a breakfast of "huevos estrellados," and practices vocal exercises before going to work as a storyteller.

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

A family, including a child who is dying, sews together a quilt of its memories and love.

Describes a Mexican family preparing for and celebrating the Day of the Dead.