Works by
Chris Raschka
(aka Christopher Raschka)
(Illustrator, Writer)

As Illustrator

• A Child's Christmas in Wales (1985) by Dylan Thomas
  A Welsh poet recalls the celebration of Christmas in Wales and the feelings it evoked in him as a child.

• The Saga of Shakespeare Pintlewood and the Great Silver Fountain Pen (1990) by James H. Lehman;

• Benjamin Brody's Backyard Bag (1991) by Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner and Phyllis Vos Wezeman
  A retelling of the events in the life of Jesus Christ.

• The Owl and the Tuba (1991) by James H. Lehman;

• The Genie in the Jar (1998) by Nikki Giovanni
  In this hymn to the power of art and of love, the words create images of black songs and black loom, inspiring readers to trust their hearts.

• Another Important Book (1999) by Margaret Wise Brown
  Illustrations and simple rhyming text describe how a child grows from ages one through six.

• Fishing in the Air (2000) by Sharon Creech
  The first picture book by Sharon Creech, Newbery award-winning author of Walk Two Moons, is a lyrical portrait of the bond between a father and son. Caldecott Honor recipient Chris Raschka's illustrations shimmer in pools of color and light, making Fishing in the Air a beautiful reminder of the gift of imagination a parent passes on to a child -- and a child gladly shares in return.

• Four Corners of the Sky: Creation Stories and Cosmologies from Around the World (2000) by Steve Zeitlin
  A collection of folk stories from around the world, each accompanied by background information, that explain the various perspectives of different peoples on how the universe and their world came to be.

• Movin' (2000) by  Dave Johnson, ed.
  Anthology of poems written by teens.

• A Poke in the I (2001) by Paul B. Janeczko
  Concrete poems startle and delight the eye and mind. The size and arrangement of words and letters can add or alter meaning — forming a poem that takes the shape of crows that fly off the page or becoming a balloon filled with rhyme, drifting away from outstretched hands. Here, in a single extraordinary volume, are thirty poems from some of the world's finest visual poets, including John Hollander, Emmett Williams, Maureen W. Armour, and Douglas Florian.

• Happy to Be Nappy (2001) by bell hooks
  Celebrates the joy and beauty of nappy hair.

• Little Tree (2001) by e. e. cummings
  Inspired by a poem by E.E. Cummings, this is the story of a little tree that finds its own special place in the world as a much-loved Christmas tree.

• Table Manners: The Edifying Story of Two Friends Whose Discovery of Good Manners Promises Them a Glorious Future (2001) by Vladimir Radunsky
  Chester teaches his good friend Dudunya about napkins, "full-mouthed speaking accidents," and other important aspects of proper mealtime behavior.

• Be Boy Buzz (2002) by bell hooks
  Celebrates being Bold, All Bliss Boy, All Bad Boy Beast, Boy running, Boy Jumping, Boy Sitting Down, and being in Love With Being a Boy.

• I Pledge Allegiance (2002) by Bill Jr Martin and Michael Sampson
  Written especially for children, the Pledge of Allegiance was first recited on October 12, 1892, by 12 million children across the country and has been memorized by generations of children ever since. Isn’t it time they understood the meaning behind its words?

• Armstrong (2003) by Claude Nougaro and Maurice Vander

• Granny Torrelli Makes Soup (2003) by Sharon Creech
  With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door.

• Skin Again (2004) by bell hooks
  The skin I'm in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story. The skin I'm in is just a covering. If you want to know who i am You have got to come inside And open your heart way wide. Celebrating all that makes us unique and different, Skin Again offers new ways to talk about race and identity. Race matters, but only so much-what's most important is who we are on the inside. Looking beyond skin, going straight to the heart, we find in each other the treasures stored down deep. Learning to cherish those treasures, to be all we imagine ourselves to be, makes us free. Skin Again celebrates this freedom.

• A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms (2005) by Paul B. Janeczko
  In this splendid and playful volume, acclaimed poetry anthologist Paul B. Janeczko and Caldecott Honor illustrator Chris Raschka present lively examples of twenty-nine poetic forms, demonstrating not only the (sometimes bendable) rules of poetry, but also the spirit that brings these forms so wonderfully to life. Featuring formal poems, some familiar and some never before published, from the likes of Eleanor Farjeon (aubade), X.J. Kennedy (elegy), Ogden Nash (couplet), Liz Rosenberg (pantoum), and William Shakespeare, the sonnet king himself, A KICK IN THE HEAD perfectly illustrates Robert Frost's maxim that poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net.

• The Hello, Goodbye Window (2005) by Norton Juster -- winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal.
  The kitchen window at Nanna and Poppy's house is, for one little girl, a magic gateway. Everything important happens near it, through it, or beyond it. Told in her voice, her story is both a voyage of discovery and a celebration of the commonplace wonders that define childhood. It is also a love song devoted to that special relationship between grandparents and grandchild.

• Best Shorts (2006) by Carolyn Shute
  Newbery Medal–winning author Avi has selected short stories from the past and present in this entertaining collection for young readers. And whether you begin by reading alone or reading aloud, these stories are some of the very best to share.
  
  Featuring loyal pets, rogue waves, ghosts who use cell phones, and young people caught up in events beyond their control, these stories are written by some of the most entertaining and esteemed authors of children"s literature. They will have you savoring a quiet moment by yourself, talking during dinnertime with your family, and laughing in class with your friends.
  
  Though it may take only a few minutes to read, a terrific short story can take you on a long journey. Are you ready for the trip?

• Good Sports (2007 release) by Jack Prelutsky
  Exhilarating, all-new, kid-friendly rhymes capture the range of emotions, from winning to losing to the sheer joy of participating, that
  children experience as they discover the games of their choice. Jack Prelutsky, a virtuoso at making poetry fun for the elementary school
  crowd, includes in this inspired collection poems about baseball, soccer, football, skating, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, karate, and more. His signature lighthearted humor in verse that trips off the tongue is coupled here with the 2006 Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka's lickety-split, stylized (and stylish) watercolors. Every page is a blaze of color and motion. Whether Good Sports will create good sports remains to be seen, but it will prove to young boys (and girls) that reading poetry can be fun.

As Writer

• Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (1992)
  Introduces the famous saxophonist and his style of jazz known as bebop.

• Yo! Yes? (1993)
  Two lonely characters, one black and one white, meet on the street and become friends.

• Elizabeth Imagined An Iceberg (1994)
  By visualizing an iceberg and remembering how strong it can be, Elizabeth finds the inner strength to say, "Get away from me!" to a strange woman who is bothering her

• Cant Sleep (1995)
  The moon comforts bedtime fears.

• The Blushful Hippopotamus (1996)
  Though Roosevelt the hippopotamus's sister teases him because he blushes a lot, his best friend helps him feel better about himself.

• Mysterious Thelonious (1997)
  Matches the tones of the diatonic scale to the values of the color wheel in presenting a portrait of the work of the Afro-American jazz musician and composer of "Mysterioso."

• Arlene Sardine (1998)
  Follows the short life of Arlene, from brisling to canned sardine.

• Simple Gifts: A Shaker Hymn (1998)
  Simple Gifts is one of the very few hymns that all Americans treasure. In churches, at graduation and wedding ceremonies, on concert and ballet stages, and especially in homes and schools, it is a perennial favorite.
  
  Now the acclaimed and ever-innovative artist Chris Raschka has transformed this treasured Shaker hymn into a lavish picture book.
  
  In Raschka's hands an irresistible cat, the bluebird of happiness, a sweet rabbit, a calm turtle, and the flowers that bloom, bend, and bow, all "Come 'round right."

• Like Likes Like (1999)
  Two cats fall in love in a rose garden.

• Doggy Dog  (2000)
  Simple words and illustrations detail some of the things that Doggy Dog is not, including a cat, a lampshade, and a potato.

• Goosey Goose (2000)
  If you mess with Goosey Goose, you will be in trouble.

• Moosey Moose (2000)
  Moosey Moose wants his long pants.

• Ring! Yo? (2000)
  In a telephone conversation--of which the reader at first only hears one side--two friends, one black and one white, have a disagreement and then make up.

• Sluggy Slug (2000)
  Sluggy Slug will not go because he is sluggy.

• Snaily Snail (2000)
  Snaily Snail is loved all the time, no matter what he is doing.

• Wormy Worm (2000)
  As Wormy Worm wiggles and woggles, it is hard to tell which end is front and which end is back.

• Lamby Lamb (2001)
  Lamby Lamb is told how not to get dressed.

• Waffle (2001)
  A child who is always worried finds a way to overcome his fears.

• Whaley Whale (2001)
  Simple text and illustrations show the reader a whale hiding in the ocean

• John Coltrane's Giant Steps (2002)
  John Coltrane's musical composition is performed by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten.

• Talk to Me About the Alphabet (2003)
  Sound it out, listen, maybe even shout . . . This isn't just any old conversation. We're talking about the alphabet! Chris Raschka brings his rhythm and street-smart style to an alphabet book, where A is for Attitude and W is for Way-cool Wheels. Raschka's artistic energy will make everyone, big and small, look at the alphabet in a new way.

• Boy Meets Girl/Girl Meets Boy: Seuil-Chronicle (2004)
  Have you ever noticed how so many important things go in only one direction? Rain and songs, clocks and how your toenails grow and books, for instance. Wouldn't it be nice if at least one important thing could go in both directions? This book does. You can read it left to right, right to left, back and forth, forth and back. And when you read a book in two directions you may notice some things in a new way

• New York Is English, Chattanooga Is Creek (2005)

  Suppose you are a CITY.
  Yes, you, looking at this book.
  Who named you
  SANTA FE,
  or
  PORTLAND,
  or
  TOMBSTONE,
  or
  whatever your name is?

  This book invites you to a big party with lots and lots of relatives, near and far, from all over tha nation.  These relatives will be glad to meet YOU!

• Five for a Little One (2006)
  If you are a bunny, try a taste, take a gander, snuffle a sniff, relish a sound, and share a hug. Everything around is waiting.
  
  If you are a boy, or a girl, or a dog, or a kitty do like our friend Bunny.
  
  And enjoy.

• The Purple Balloon (2007 release)

See also:

• Ferdinand Monjo to Chris Raschka (2006)E. Russell Primm
  Volume 6, Favorite Children's Authors and Illustrators

• Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? (2006)
  e all know the joke. We’ve all told it. Kids love to tell it over and over and over again, with as many different punch lines as possible. And now we’ve found out that famous award-winning artists love to tell the joke too—and they have some wacky and downright hilarious ideas about why that chicken really did cross the road.  Includes pieces by Chris Raschka, Chris Sheban, David Catrow, David Shannon, Harry Bliss, Jerry Pinkney, Jon Agee, Judy Schachner, Lynn Munsinger, Marla Frazee, Mary Grandpre, Mo Willems , Tedd Arnold, and Vladimir Radunsky