Some other titles:
Pipaluk & the Whales (National Geographic)
Mort the Sport (Orchard) (On the list of top 10 Children's Sport's Books '00)
The Animal Rescue Club (Harper Collins)
Mort the Sport (Orchard)
Ibis, A True Whale Story (Scholastic) (ABC Award)
Buzby (Harper Collins)
Buzby To The Rescue (Harper Collins)
The Ups & Downs of Simpson Snail (E.P. Dutton)
Check your local bookstores or have a look at the ordering options below
From the Nature Upclose series (Children's Press):
Have you ever wondered how some of nature's smallest creatures spend their days and nights? Here's your chance to take a scientifically accurate peek at the world from their point of view. In each book, the striking watercolor illustrations and lively storyline follow a small plant or animal as it hunts for food, faces its enemies & interacts with humans.
Nature Upclose Titles:
A Monarch Butterfly's Life (sample pictures)
A Pillbug's Life
A Luna Moth's Life (sample pictures)
A Woodfrog's Life (sample pictures)
A Ladybug's Life
A Dandelion's Life
A Salamander's Life
A Slug's Life
A House Spider's Life
A Hummingbird's Life
An Earthworm's Life
A Mouse's Life
A Mealworm's Life
Last updated 8/11
FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC!
Pipaluk had never seen so many whales. There were thousands of them - all trapped in a narrow opening in the ice. For centuries the whales had provided food for the people of her villiage. Now the whales needed their help.
Based on a true story, Pipaluk and the Whales shows the great lengths to which people will go to save the lives of their wild neighbors.
About me:
I am a children's book/natural history author and illustrator, & have written & illustrated over 60 books since 1981. I'm also a "freelance" naturalist who leads trips and writes the occasional article for magazines. (And I play around with recording music, too). I live in the rural town of Killingworth in Connecticut. My wife, Betsy, is an artist and High School Art Teacher. My son, Jeff, is an artist and graduated from the School of Visual Arts. My daughter Liz lives in Philly and attends the University of the Arts - pursuing a career in comedy. For more information, and pictures, go to "JH's BIO".
Discovering Moths,
published by Downeast Books
This one's for adults and is filled with photos, stories and drawings of
some of my favorite bugs.
Click on cover for more info and sample pages.
Based on a real life groups of kids who rescued orphaned and injured wildlife.
2003 CT BOOK AWARD Finalist
in Best Children's Book Author Category
2003 CT BOOK AWARD Finalist
in Best Non Fiction Category
Spring 2004
Frog in a Bog
Charlesbridge Press
Peek into a unique environment packed with frogs, bugs, birds, and more. From crickets to muskrats, pitcher plants to moss, take an up-close look at life in a typical North American bog.
"EDITOR'S
CHOICE!"
Science Books
& Film
Some more available Children's Books:
Spring 2006
Discovering Amphibians
Frogs and Salamanders of the Northeast
Downeast Books
Stories, photos, and drawings covering the 'phibs in this area, and some of my adventures in seeking them out.
Order from
Author stalking his quarry for the book.
Fall '06
Chickens to the Rescue
Henry Holt Publishers
Also out Spring 2006
Tudley Didn't Know
Sylvan Dell Publishing
Tudley does some unbelievable things because he doesn't know he can't.
Read these reviews: Booklist, School Library Journal, Front Street Books, Children's Book Reviews
Visit SDP's website here for more information
ABA's "Book Sense 2006 Autumn Children's Picks" List
Number 4 on their Top Ten list!
The reviews are in!
B o ok o r d e r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a t b o t t o m o f p a g e
School Library Journal's...
"The Best Books of 2006" List!
American Booksellers Association
"Book Sense Winter Children's Picks"
"There are several examples in the book which stand alone as essays to be read and re-read, but the book itself is a treasure which won't stay on the shelf very long." -- The Courier-Gazette, Rockland, Maine
A Fall Junior Library Guild Selection!
My son Jeff Himmelman is an artist, too. His painting recently took the Juror's Award at a fantasy art convention (Gen Con). Click on the thumbnail to the right so see a larger image.
Eight years in the making... I teamed up with wildlife artist, and friend, Michael DiGiorgio for this project. The book covers 72 species of crickets and katydids found in eastern North America from Canada to Delaware (most are also found south to Florida). DiGiorgio created the plates; I provided the words, and we both captured the recordings of their calls for the accompanying CD (narrated by Kate Davis).
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly! *click to read*
School Library Journal's Review!
Wall Street Journal Review!
"Where the ocean laps up against
the beach, there is a community
of diverse sea creatures that live together,
from the sea star hunting for clams to the
moon snail laying its eggs in the sand.
John Himmelman's beautiful watercolor
paintings illustrate the delicate balance that
exists at the seashore." (from the jacket)
More here.
A Daddy Longlegs Isn't a Spider
Written by Melissa Stewart
Illustrated by John Himmelman
Windward Publishing
Autumn 2009
Summer
'09
Farmer Greenstalk and his family have the darnedest luck. Broken-down tractors, kites stuck in trees--they're always having problems! It's a good thing they have such helpful farm animals on hand.
This time around, the pigs want to pitch in, and, boy, do they ever! The Greenstalks soon find, though, that life might just be a little easier without their help.
A Junior Library Guild Selection!
Published by Henry Holt
“Written with a minimum of fuss and illustrated with comic delight, this picture book from the To the Rescue series offers plenty of laughs for the read-aloud crowd.”—Booklist
“Himmelman’s expressively comedic illustrations keep it as funny as ever.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Okay, let's start with this nitty gritty stuff:
And now lots of things with pictures...
Autumn 2010
One little hot dog sitting on a chair..."I want a friend to sit with me!" Two little hot dogs sitting on a chair...
10 Little Hot Dogs
One by one, more little hot dogs join the group until there are ten little hot dogs on the chair. They play and play until...they all fall asleep. But then, one little hot dog wakes up, and one by one, guess what the other hot dogs do? Humorous illustrations rendered in watercolor and pencil and a playful narrative make it easy for young readers to count these hopping hot dogs from one to ten and down again from ten to one.
"This book will work well as a read-aloud with small groups, though the engaging puppies will encourage closer examination." - School Library Journal
Here's a clip from Weston Woods studio's animated adaptation of Katie Loves the Kittens (published by Henry Holt)! I'm thrilled with the job they did with it. Please bear in mind that the video quality takes a beating when reformatted for You Tube. It is narrated and voiced by my daughter Elizabeth (Lizzie) Himmelman, who is studying theater at University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Katie, a little dog, is so excited when Sara Ann brings home three little kittens that she can't stop herself from howling and trying to run after them. But her enthusiasm frightens the kitties, and she's sad when they run away from her. Don't they know that she just wants to play? Music by Robert Kessler. Directed by Karen Villarreal. Includes bonus interview with John Himmelman.
Order here.
KATIE'S A CARTOON!
March 2011
CRICKET RADIO
Tuning In the Nightsinging Insects
Harvard University Press
My first book on crickets and katydids (Guide to Night-Singing Insects of the Northeast) is a field guide - the "how" with regard to getting to know these insects. This book is the "why", as in "why should we?", and explores why these insects sing, and how their songs enrich our lives.
Cricket Radio is accompanied by recordings I made of crickets and katydids in their natural setting. They are available at this website.
Harvard also put together a fun "teaser" site here.
This book is filled with color photos covering most of the families of the Ensifera (crickets and katydids) and is sprinkled with my line drawings.
Visit "Cricket Radio Broadcast" for more of a description of this book, and info on ordering it.
Okay, now this is cool... A friend pointed me this YouTube video of a boy named Grant Kraus doing 10 Little Hot Dogs in ASL (sign language)!
Click above for info on the first of the Explore Parmelee Farms Wildlife series in Killingworth, CT.
Okay, you knew this one was coming, right...?
"It's the day of the county fair!
Three-legged races, a “Smartest Pig” contest, the Ferris wheel—what could be more fun? But the Greenstalks’ car won’t start, so they’ll need some help getting there. . . .
Cows to the Rescue is the fabulous new book in John Himmelman’s hilarious barnyard saga. It follows Chickens to the Rescue and Pigs to the Rescue, bringing back the fun with brand new mishaps and brand moo—er, new—problem-solvers."
Hits the shelves September 2011
Interior art previews & purchase info: Henry Holt & Co.
“Himmelman’s illustrations are such an artful eyeful—snappily colored and gloriously comic —that it is easy to overlook the pleasure of the simple text, a little motor that in many ways drives the whole production forward.” --Kirkus Reviews
"The pencil and watercolor illustrations are packed with plenty of personality and have enough detail to keep kids turning the pages to learn the outcome. Children will, of course, pipe up with the refrain 'Cows to the Rescue!' in group readings and during lapsits, and the mad antics of these friendly and very game rescuers will delight them.” --School Library Journal
Learn the "Science of Self-defense". We also teach Jun Fan gung fu/jeet kune do.
