Books by Leo Lionni

Illus. in full color. "Eye-catching, boldly colored collages illustrate this classic 'grass is always greener' story in which a live mouse is envious of his mechanical counterpart."--Booklist.

Alexander, a real mouse, wants to be a toy mouse like his friend Willy until he discovers Willy is to be thrown away. An ALA Notable Children's Book & Caldecott Honor Book.

A strong wind blows most of the letters off the alphabet tree and those that remain hide among the branches. Then a bug and a caterpillar come along and teach them how to arrange themselves into words and sentences to form a special message.

Here, sumptuously illustrated, is a superbly written account of a remarkable life--a life spent divided between Europe and America, between art and commerce--by the famous artist, art director, and childrens book author Leo Lionni.Born in Holland, half Jewish, raised in Amsterdam, Brussels, Genoa, Philadelphia--Lionni is a man of many languages and cultures but no real home. His story is one of a constant search, a search that takes him from an ideal early childhood to a strict education in Italy that proved largely irrelevant to his future, and then to exile from Fascist Italy in America; from being a highly political aspiring artist to becoming a highly successful advertising director (he invented the famous "Never underestimate the power of a woman" campaign) and a powerful force in the world of graphics as the art director of Fortune magazine; from life in the affluent commuter world of Connecticut to a return to Italy and the life of an artist. After all this--a full life by any account--he finds yet another successful vocation as the author and illustrator of children's books that have sold millions of copies throughout the world.Lionni tells his story--it encompasses his early romance and happy marriage, and his countless extraordinary friends and acquaintances--in the most elegant and persuasive prose, the kind of English that only a distinguished European can write. And since his story is also the story of a lifetime of creativity, throughout the book are examples, in color and black-and-white, of his remarkable body of work--painting, sculpture, ceramics, mosaics, photography, graphics, and, of course, illustration. This is an autobiography both of great intellectual and artistic sophistication and of large human appeal.

In a fable within a fable, a wise snail convinces his son that a small, easy to carry shell might be better than the biggest house in the world for a life of adventure and exploration.

When a chameleon goes in search of discovering what color he wants to be, he learns an important lesson about being true to one's self after developing a special friendship with a fellow chameleon.

A group of mice invite the reader to identify colors. On board pages.

Cornelius's crocodile friends seem unimpressed with his tricks, until later he notices them trying to imitate him.

Illus. in full color. While taking a walk, three frogs discover what they believe to be a chicken egg and eagerly wait for it to hatch. When a scaly, four-legged creature with a long snoutful of teeth emerges a few days later, the frogs are still convinced it's a chicken and are thrilled to have a new friend. Soon the frogs and "chicken" are inseparable, at least until the day "chicken" finds and returns to her mother...an enormous "hen" who looks suspiciously like an alligator!

In this story, a minnow wants to follow a tadpole, but the tadpole becomes a frog and migrates to the land. In the end the minnow learns that he's happier being himself than imitating others.

"While other mice are gathering food for the winter, Frederick seems to daydream the summer away. When dreary weather comes, it is Frederick the poet-mouse who warms his friends and cheers them with his words".--Wilson Library Bulletin. Illustrated.

Contains four of the author's picture-book classics including Frederick, Swimmy, Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse, and Fish Is Fish, detailing the adventures of a group of mice and fish who become friends.

Illustrated on every page, this sumptuous anthology contains thirteen of Lionni's most popular animal fables, including three Caldecott Honor books--Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Swimmy, and Frederick. Reissue.

Equally appreciative of fine cheeses and beautiful music, Geraldine the mouse gets quite a surprise when a statue of a mouse made of cheese suddenly comes to life and presents her with the greatest gift of all!

After nibbling an enormous piece of parmesan cheese into the shape of a giant mouse holding a flute, Geraldine hears music for the first time.

Originally published in 1973, this is an offbeat fable about the city mouse who visits his peaceful country cousins and tells them about Mardi Gras in the city. What fun it would be to make masks of fearsome animals and have our own Mardi Gras, think the country mice. And at first it is fun wearing their masks with sharp teeth and tusks and scaring each other, but after awhile they begin believing that they really are ferocious animals. All the mice are frightened and suspicious of each other until one mouse finds a way to make them happy to be real mice again.
Leo Lionni’s winsome mice, all cousins to his beloved Frederick, cavort across big double-page spreads of oil paintings and tell a story about what is real and what is not that is just right for preschoolers.

Despite the old rabbit's warning, two young rabbits find a way to get apples from the apple tree without being caught by the fox.

A winsome, winning inchworm, proud of his ability to measure anything under the sun, finds out that his is a lifesaving skill, too, when a hungry bird gets a little too close. Full color.

Three selfish frogs quarrel over who owns their pond and island, until a storm makes them value the benefits of sharing.

In the morning, two mice get together and try to make a plan of all the activities they want to do, but the two friends get so involved with the planning that the entire day passes them by!

A group of mice playfully introduce the reader to the letters of the alphabet.

By telling the fanciful story of a friendship between two children, this booksimultaneously describes how colors blend. Full color.

Always together, best friends Little Blue and Little Yellow are so happy after a sudden separation that they embrace upon seeing each other, but when they suddenly turn green, the two friends have to figure out a way to revert to the colors they once were.

Always together, best friends Little Blue and Little Yellow are so happy after a sudden separation that they embrace upon seeing each other, but when they suddenly turn green, the two friends have to figure out a way to revert to the colors they once were.

"One of Lionni's familiar-looking mice lives in a junk-strewn attic. When Matthew visits an art gallery, he is entranced. That night Matthew dreams about walking hand in hand through 'playful patches of color.' He awakens, his inspiration stays with him and he goes on to paint great things. Lionni uses familiar collage and color techniques, but what colors! He employs bright, rich hues that stand out smartly against white backgrounds."--School Library Journal (starred)

A group of mice experience the weather and activities characteristic of each month of the year.

Overnight, city mouse Timothy becomes a little man. And when he runs away to the country, the other mice are not so sure he's really one of them--until Timothy rescues the others from a hungry cat. A masterly blend of fable and collage from the bestselling author of Frederick and Swimmy. Full-color illustrations.

"An exquisite picture book. A little fish, the lone survivor of a school of fish swallowed by a tuna, devises a plan to camouflage himself and his new companions".--"School Library Journal", starred review. ALA Notable Book; Caldecott Honor Book. Full-color illustrations.

Grabbed in the meadow and taken high into the sky, Nicholas the mouse's search for ripe red berries becomes a horrific adventure, but when the bird turns out to be an unlikely ally by helping him reach the high branches, Nicholas learns an important lesson he won't soon forget.

A group of mice introduce the numbers one through ten. On board pages.

Challenging youngsters to look closely at the most ordinary objects, this book teaches them to discover the extraordinary beauty and majesty of each.

A confused orange cube named Pezzettino--"little piece" in Italian--searches for where he fits in, only to discover that he might actually a very special place in the world. He asks a variety of creatures, some obvious, others abstract, if he belongs to them, only to be rebuffed repeatedly. But a boat voyage changes everything. Originally published in 1975, Caldecott Honor-winning artist Leo Lionni has created a picture book about self esteem with a playful surrealism little seen in children's books today. With simple, beautiful collage art, oil pastels, and a world made of marbleized paper.

The lives of three frog take an unexpected turn when a curious creature hatches from an extraordinary egg.

A fable set in the Balabadur Hills of India pits six hungry crows against a farmer, as the combatants try to frighten one another away from a wheat field.

"An exquisite picture book. A little fish, the lone survivor of a school of fish swallowed by a tuna, devises a plan to camouflage himself and his new companions".--School Library Journal, starred review. ALA Notable Book; Caldecott Honor Book. Full-color illustrations.

Unable to think of an impressive skill to share with his friends lizard, frog, and turtle, Theodore the mouse tells a wild lie about a talking mushroom that makes everyone respect him, but when the truth comes out and his friends get mad, Theodore quickly discovers his most special skill after he runs away to avoid the angry mob!

Unable to think of an impressive skill to share with his friends lizard, frog, and turtle, Theodore the mouse tells a wild lie about a talking mushroom that makes everyone respect him, but when the truth comes out and his friends get mad, Theodore quickly discovers his most special skill after he runs away to avoid the angry mob!

The blue mushroom says only one strange word but Theodore the mouse convinces his friends that it means nice things about him.

A little bird that cannot fly is granted its wish to have golden wings.

When a wingless bird's wish for getting a pair of golden wings comes true, his friends aren't accepting of his new look and so he flies away, yet while on his mission, he helps a man by giving him all his new feathers which then grow back black whereupon he is accepted by his flock once more. An ALA Notable Book. Reissue.

When a wingless bird's wish for getting a pair of golden wings comes true, his friends aren't accepting of his new look and so he flies away, yet while on his mission, he helps a man by giving him all his new feathers which then grow back black whereupon he is accepted by his flock once more. An ALA Notable Book. Reissue.

Unlike the other mice, who are incurious about the wall that has always been part of their world, Tillie is determined to find out what lies on the other side of the wall.

Playful mice introduce vocabulary words for the beginning reader. On board pages.