John Himmelman

Author of Ibis: A True Whale Story

64+ Works 5,571 Members 128 Reviews

About the Author

John Himmelman was born in Kittery, Maine. He received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1981. He wrote Talester the Lizard while taking a course in writing and illustrating children's books and it became his first published book. To pay the bills, he worked as a cook and then as a carpenter, show more working on his books at night. It took about six years before he could make a full time living writing and illustrating children's books. He has written and illustrated over 70 children's books, many with nature-related themes. His books include Discovering Moths, Discovering Amphibians, Guide to Night Singing Insects of the Northeast, and Cricket Radio: Tuning In To the Night-Singing Insects. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the name: John Himmelman

Series

Nature Upclose

Katie Series by John Himmelman

Amanda the Witch

Fix-It Family

Works by John Himmelman

Popular Recent

Ibis: A True Whale Story (1990) 919 copies

Katie Loves the Kittens (2008) 448 copies

An Earthworm's Life (Nature Upclose) (2000) 388 copies

Pigs to the Rescue (2010) 288 copies

Chickens to the Rescue (2006) 275 copies

A Ladybug's Life (Nature Upclose) (1998) 247 copies

Cows to the Rescue (2011) 244 copies

A Guest Is a Guest (1991) 180 copies

A House Spider's Life (Nature Upclose) (1999) 178 copies

A Monarch Butterfly's Life (Nature Upclose) (1999) 165 copies

A Salamander's Life (Nature Upclose) (1998) 156 copies

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny (2014) 155 copies

A Dandelion's Life (Nature Upclose) (1998) 154 copies

The Animal Rescue Club (I Can Read Book 4) (1998) 136 copies

Wanted: Perfect Parents (1982) 130 copies

10 Little Hot Dogs (2010) 99 copies

A Pill Bug's Life (Nature Upclose) (1999) 77 copies

Tudley Didn't Know (2006) 73 copies

I'm Not Scared!: A Book of Scary Poems (Read With Me) (1994) 70 copies

Frog in a Bog (2004) 67 copies

A Wood Frog's Life (Nature Upclose) (1998) 64 copies

Duck to the Rescue (Barnyard Rescue) (2014) 59 copies

Montigue on the High Seas (Picture Puffins) (1988) 58 copies

Noisy Bug Sing-Along (2013) 57 copies

A Luna Moth's Life (Nature Upclose) (1998) 53 copies

A Hummingbird's Life (Nature Upclose) (2000) 53 copies

A Slug's Life (Nature Upclose) (1792) 52 copies

Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move (2015) 51 copies

Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard (2002) 51 copies

Pipaluk And The Whales (2002) 45 copies

Lights Out! (1995) 42 copies

Amanda and the Witch Switch (1985) 41 copies

Bunjitsu Bunny Jumps to the Moon (2016) 39 copies

Katie and the Puppy Next Door (2013) 39 copies

Floaty (2018) 32 copies

Noisy Bird Sing-Along (Noisy Sing-Along) (2015) 31 copies

Noisy Frog Sing-Along (2013) 27 copies

There's a Bug on My Book! (2017) 26 copies

Bunjitsu Bunny vs. Bunjitsu Bunny (2017) 21 copies

Simpson Snail Sings (Easy-to-Read, Puffin) (1992) 21 copies

Mouse in a Meadow (1821) 21 copies

The Cow Said Meow (2016) 20 copies

A Mealworm's Life (Nature Upclose) (2001) 18 copies

The Ups and Downs of Simpson Snail: Level 2 (Easy-to-Read, Puffin) (1989) 17 copies

Who's at the Seashore? (2008) 15 copies

A Mouse's Life (Nature Upclose) (2000) 15 copies

The Giant from the Fire Sea (2019) 13 copies

Albert Hopper, Science Hero (2020) 12 copies

The Super Camper Caper (The Fix-It Family) (1991) 12 copies

Cricket Radio: Tuning In the Night-Singing Insects (2011) 12 copies

Ellen and the Goldfish: Story and Pictures (1990) 11 copies

Discovering Amphibians: Frogs And Salamanders of the Northeast (2006) 11 copies

The Day-Off Machine (Fix-It Family Series) (1990) 11 copies

The Great Leaf Blast-Off! (Fix-It Family Series) (1990) 10 copies

Talester the Lizard (1982) 9 copies

J.J. Versus the Baby-Sitter (1996) 8 copies

Amanda and the Magic Garden (1987) 8 copies

The Clover County Carrot Contest (Fix-It Family) (1991) 8 copies

Sarah and the terns (Spotlight books) (1997) 7 copies

Honest Tulio (1997) 6 copies

Box Turtle (2018) 6 copies

Basic Illustrated Guide to Frogs, Snakes, Bugs, and Slugs (Basic Illustrated Series) (2013) 4 copies

Ben's Birthday Wish (Spotlight Books/Theme Books) (1997) 3 copies

The Talking Tree : Or, Don't Believe Everything You Hear (1986) 3 copies

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Young George Washington: America's First President (1997) — Illustrator — 571 copies

Young Christopher Columbus: Discoverer of New Worlds (1992) — Illustrator, some editions — 414 copies

Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights (1992) — Illustrator — 300 copies

Hooray! It's Passover! (1996) — Illustrator — 264 copies

Young Thomas Edison: Great Inventor (1995) — Illustrator — 176 copies

Buzby to the Rescue (1993) — Illustrator — 138 copies

Sound the Shofar!: A Story for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (1998) — Illustrator — 124 copies

Snuggle Piggy and the Magic Blanket (1987) — Illustrator — 85 copies

Charlotte Cheetham: Master of Disaster (1985) — Illustrator — 37 copies

Mort The Sport (2000) — Illustrator — 32 copies

Let's Count 12345 (Preschool Pop-ups) (1988) — Illustrator — 6 copies

A Daddy Longlegs Isn't a Spider (2009) — Illustrator — 2 copies

Tagged

animals (210) biographies (29) biography (144) birds (37) bugs (38) cats (49) chickens (34) children (67) children's (89) collection:Fiction (28) dogs (73) family (35) farm (112) farm animals (42) fiction (113) friendship (28) frogs (29) George Washington (29) Hanukkah (76) hardcover (33) history (50) holidays (61) humor (40) insects (100) life cycle (53) nature (85) nature study (29) non-fiction (189) ocean (56) Passover (56) pets (39) picture book (259) pigs (41) presidents (38) Rosh Hashanah (30) science (163) shelf:Fiction (28) storytime (29) whales (81) Yom Kippur (28)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Himmelman, John
Birthdate: 1959-10-03
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Places of residence: Connecticut, USA
Education: School of Visual Arts
Occupations: illustrator
naturalist
Relationships: Himmelman, Betsy (wife)
Himmelman, Jeffrey (son)
Himmelman, Liz (daughter)
Organizations: SCBWI

Members

Reviews

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny (Bunjitsu Bunny, 1) by John Himmelman

Good lessons about friendship, but it also has ninja animals.

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sloth852 | 7 other reviews | Jan 12, 2024 |

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny (Bunjitsu Bunny, 1) by John Himmelman

Each chapter of this delightful little book is a sort of parable wherein Bunjitsu Bunny (AKA Isabel) learns a lesson or someone learns a lesson from her. The messages here are very zen, but not entirely pacifist in nature. Bunjitsu students must never start fights, and they must do all they can to avoid fights, but when Isabel faces a bunch of bullying pirates she kicks their butts. Fun two-tone illustrations, a big font size, and wide margins make this a perfect choice for burgeoning chapter book readers, particularly those who study martial arts. The only way this could've been improved for me was if the stories came together in the end, but each chapter stands alone.… (more)

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LibrarianDest | 7 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |

Chickens to the Rescue (Barnyard Rescue) by John Himmelman

A family favorite. The story is clever, but the detailed and hilarious illustrations hit this one out of the park.

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sloth852 | 12 other reviews | Jan 2, 2024 |

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman

EducatingParents.org rating: Under Review
Warning: parents should be aware of potential Eastern wisdom which may not necessarily line up with their spiritual beliefs.

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MamaBearLendingDen | 7 other reviews | Nov 25, 2023 |

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