Emma Full of Wonders
2024
Roaring Brook Press (April 2, 2024)
Reading age : 3 - 6 years
EMMA FULL OF WONDERS
Emma is a big dog with a lot of little dreams. She dreams of a cool roll in the grass, a warm spring walk, and food, of course. Every day her dreams get bigger, and bigger, until one day...
A beautiful classic-in-the-making, Caldecott Honor Winner Elisha Cooper’s Emma Full of Wonders is a heartwarming and special read that will be cherished amongst readers young and old.
★ “Blindsidingly moving…”
―Shelf Awareness, starred review
“A beautiful celebration of motherhood...”
– Booklist
“A sweet and unexpected addition to the waiting-for-baby shelf.”
– Kirkus Reviews
Yes & No
2021
Roaring Brook Press (April 13, 2021)
Reading age : 2 - 6 years
Yes & No
This book is about a puppy and a cat and their day together (with a surprise twist at the end). It’s also, I hope, about something more.
I wrote the story at a bakery in Brooklyn, at their communal wood table. Then, as I dreamed about what the book could be, I spent time at the Impressionist Galleries at the Met (looking at clouds and shadows), and the Asian Art Collection (where I fell in love with the mountainous landscape scrolls). I also biked around the city on the lookout for puppies, and if I saw a good one (right age, size, disposition), I’d pull over and ask the owner if I could draw them.
Once I’d assembled my various sketches, I started to paint. I wanted the book to look similar to the black-and-white art of Big Cat, Little Cat, but with a watercolor wash. It took me one summer to paint, possibly longer because of a mistake I made with the paper (one I’m too embarrassed to admit to).
Yes & No is pretty simple: puppy, cat, day. But the emotions, at least for me, became deep. Family, love. Siblings, parent. Sadness, space. The balance within a family, and the rhythm of our days. The longing we all feel – especially now – for a sense of peace.
★ “Yes, indeed.”
―Horn Book, starred review
★ “Delightful.”
―Booklist, starred review
★ “Wonderful.”
―School Library Journal, starred review
★ “Sweetly comic.”
―Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “It’s hard to imagine a more perfect bedtime story...”
―Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review
River
2019
Publisher : Orchard Books; Illustrated edition (October 1, 2019)
Reading age : 4 - 8 years | Grade level : Preschool - 3
Buy the Book:
River
River is an adventure book, sort of. A young woman launches her canoe in the Adirondacks and paddles three-hundred-miles down the Hudson River to New York City, and home. A modern Odyssey, with fewer monsters and more tugboats.
I did not canoe down the Hudson myself — I’m not a capable enough canoer. But as I explored up and down the river, I think I felt the same wonder of any adventurer. I loved discovering the Hudson’s forested headwaters, or sketching New York harbor from a ferry, or biking over to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to draw boats. My sketchbook filled up. I loved drawing my daughters, too — they modeled as the canoer, sitting on our couch and holding a paddle (I imagine the book’s hero as my daughters, grown up). Then I put everything together and wrote the story.
I don’t know if I’ve enjoyed making a book more. Observation is at the heart of why I love making books. Seeing something new, overcoming that unmoored feeling of being far from home, then coming home. And with luck, when we see the world in all its beauty, whether it’s the Hudson River or our local park, we protect it. That’s my hope for this book.
ROBIN SMITH PICTURE BOOK PRIZE
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK
A KIRKUS BEST BOOK
HORN BOOK FANFARE LIST
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE PICTURE BOOK
A WASHINGTON POST BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK
“[A] remarkable example of the art of the picture book.”
— The New York Times
★ “Evocative watercolor illustrations.”
— Booklist, starred review
★ “Perfectly suited to the rhythm of a river.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
★ Expansive…beautifully rendered.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “A marvelous vehicle for nature lovers.”
— School Library Journal, starred review
★ “We now notice every detail.”
— Horn Book, starred review
★ “Readers will feel they have traveled a journey themselves.”
— Kirkus, starred review
Big Cat, Little Cat
2017
Roaring Brook Press (March 14, 2017)
Reading age : 3 - 6 years
Order:
Big Cat, Little Cat
I grew up on a farm with a lot of animals. Dogs, cats, horses, goats. They had a way of cycling through. I loved them and they helped me as I grew and it was never easy when they died. They filled my life. Then I left the farm and went to college and then New York, California, Chicago and New York again, and I never had animals. Until a few years ago, when our daughters convinced me to get cats. There were two. This book starts with that experience.
CALDECOTT HONOR
A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK
HORN BOOK FANFARE LIST
A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW AWARD HIGHLY COMMENDED TITLE
AN ALSC NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOK
A NCTE CHARLOTTE HUCK AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING FICTION FOR CHILDREN RECOMMENDED BOOK
★ “A gentle, loving look at the life cycle of pets.”
— School Library Journal, starred review
★ “[R]ealistic and comforting.”
— Horn Book, starred review
★ “Absolutely cat.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
★ “Cooper delivers the message that love persists through loss.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Perfect bibliotherapy.”
— Kirkus, starred review
8: An Animal Alphabet
2015
Orchard Books (July 28, 2015)
Reading age : 3 - 7 years
Order:
8: An animal alphabet
This book is many things. An alphabet book, a counting book, a finding book, a questioning book (there’s a “Did you Know?” fact about each animal at the back of the book). Though I wonder if this book may have been just an excuse to draw animals.
For research I drew on references like The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley. I spent more than a few afternoons sketching in front of the dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History. Children’s books often make animals appear “cute.” But I think children are too smart to fall for that. More curious. Because the reality — the strangeness and diversity of animals in our world— can be eye-opening.
★ “It’s a feast of fauna!”
— Booklist, starred review
★ “[W]orth adding to any collection.”
— School Library Journal, starred review
★ “Skillfully blending counting and matching elements…”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Great fun.”
— Kirkus, starred review
Train
2013
Orchard Books (September 24, 2013)
Reading age : 4-8 years
Order:
Train
I rode a lot of trains for this book. Commuter trains in and out of New York, passenger trains to Chicago, an overnight train to California. I drew freight trains — massive and rumbling — at rail yards in New Jersey. I sketched commuters in Grand Central Station. Then I took the sketches and put them into one narrative — the story of five trains making their way across America. Even though the book is about trains, I hope it’s about something deeper. Adventure, discovery. How we start in one place, and disembark a few hours later someplace else, and find ourselves different. Travel, at its best, is transformative.
★ “A poetic, beautifully conceived book.”
— Booklist, starred review
★ “Kids…will clamor to hear this one.”
— BCCB, starred review
★ “[A] distinguished addition to most collections.”
— School Library Journal, starred review
★ “[A] valentine to the sweep of American geography.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Kids will be all aboard for this one.”
— Kirkus, starred review
Homer
2012
Greenwillow Books (May 29, 2012)
Reading age : 4-8 years
Order:
Homer
An old dog sits on a porch looking out at a beach. Other dogs in his family — and the children and parents in the family — head out for the day. Then the dog welcomes them back, and follows them inside. That’s it. For this story I drew on childhood animals (I had a dog named Homer), and our summer house on Long Island Sound. I thought how sitting in one place and observing the world is not a bad place to be. Dogs don’t live long; they go from puppies to old dogs fast. But they’re often the center around which a family orbits.
★ “Dog lovers will adore this quiet portrayal of companionship.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Perfect for reading on the porch.”
— Kirkus, starred review
★ “Wonderful.”
— Booklist, starred review
Farm
2010
Orchard Books (April 1, 2010)
Reading age : 4 - 8 years
Order:
Farm
I grew up on a farm in New England. It was a farm out of a children’s book, with goats and an apple orchard, and very different from Midwestern farms with their flat cornfields and John Deere tractors. This book is about those working farms. For research I drove around DeKalb County, in Illinois, sketching barns and talking with farmers. I became friends with one farmer; during the corn harvest he let me drive his combine harvester. This book tells the story of the seasons on one farm. Children’s books about farms, with cute pigs and red tractors, undersell farms. The reality is more interesting.
SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS GOLD MEDAL WINNER 2006
★ "A joyful tribute to family farms.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "It's as thorough and pleasing an introduction to a farm as one could ask of a picture book."
— Horn Book, starred review
“It’s the best farm book, the best realistic farm book, I have ever read for kids.”
— Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal
Beaver is Lost
2010
Schwartz & Wade (November 26, 2013)
Reading age : 4 - 5 years
Order:
Beaver is lost
There’s not much to say about a book with four words. The idea came to me at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. I was with my daughters at the beaver exhibit. The beavers were large and round, moving through the water with great purpose. Grace, even. These were wild creatures in the city: what if one were lost here and had to find its way back home? I went around Chicago and drew watery places a lost beaver would have to navigate: fountains, swimming pools, sewers. I don’t think I’m giving too much away to say that this beaver eventually finds his way home.
“It's a neat, circular adventure."
— The Horn Book
★ “These pictures speak a thousand words."
— Kirkus, starred review
Beach
2006
Orchard Books (June 01, 2006)
Reading age : 3 - 5 years
Order:
Beach
I did most of the drawings for this book on Lake Michigan. Our home in Chicago was near the lake, and I’d go there with my daughters to play and swim. And sketch. Since there are salty aspects to beaches, I flew back East and drew seaweed and crabs. I remembered beaches I loved when I was young, from Fire Island to Cape Hatteras. Then I put all these drawings together into one summer day at the beach. So the beach in this book looks like the Hamptons, but has Midwestern roots (the lighthouse here is at the headwaters of the Chicago River). Even a city beach has details that make a beach a beach: sand, seagulls, and bathers in funny swimsuits.
SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS GOLD MEDAL WINNER
“Elisha Cooper's lovely, sophisticated watercolors create a day at the beach.”
— USA Today
“It’s hard to imagine a book more evocative of summer than this one…”
— The New York Times
★ “Another charmer from Cooper.”
— Kirkus, starred review
Bear Dreams
2006
Greenwillow Books (August 29, 2006)
Reading age : 4 - 8 years
Order:
bear dreams
This book started as a sequel to Magic Thinks Big, my book about a cat who sits in a doorway. I wanted to write about the cat imagining himself joining a migration of geese. That idea didn’t work. But one image stuck: a furry mammal in a V of flying geese. I reworked the story — out with the cat, in with a bear — and came up with a book about a bear cub who doesn’t want to hibernate (or a child who doesn’t want to sleep). His friends are playing outside, but he cannot, so he has to dream.
“Cooper captures the indignation of a youngster who does not want to go to bed.”
— School Library Journal
“A charming bedtime tale.”
— Kirkus
A good night walk
2005
Orchard Books (September 1, 2005)
Reading age : 4 - 8 years
Order:
a good night walk
When my daughter was an infant she cried in the evenings so I took her for walks. I walked along our street in the Berkeley hills and pointed out things, from recycling bins to sprawling oak trees. The walks calmed her, and me. After half an hour she fell asleep and we came home to bed. That was the start of this book. Before we left California, I sketched our neighborhood — trees and houses — and tried to notice the shifting sights and sounds of a place as it approached bedtime. This book is about small changes, and also about the big change for me as I became a father.
“A lovely choice.”
— School Library Journal
★ “Beautifully captures the soft, slow-down rhythms of dusk.”
— Booklist, starred review
Magic Thinks Big
2004
Greenwillow Books (April 1, 2004)
Reading age : 3 - 5 years
Order:
Magic thinks big
Years ago I spent a week at a house on a lake in Maine. There was a cat there named Magic, and one morning we saw him sitting in a doorway, looking out. My wife said, “Magic is contemplating his next move.” I liked that line and thought it would be a good start to a book. When we flew home to California I found a cat to sketch. An immense cat named Orangey, who according to his owner’s vet was, at thirty-four pounds, the largest cat in Alameda County. I drew him, and drew on memories of the Maine lake, and wondered what a cat would think about while sitting in a doorway. I like the idea that imagination can be its own adventure.
★ “Magic is the ultimate cat.”
— Kirkus, starred review
“Elisha Cooper’s watercolors, like his sentences, are simple and quiet and essentially perfect.”
— The New York Times
Ice Cream
2002
HarperCollins (April 1, 2002)
Reading age : 4 - 8 years
Order:
ice cream
I had trouble drawing cows when I was a child, even though I lived on a farm and was surrounded by them. I tore up a lot of drawings. Now I like drawing cows — they’re funny-looking, bony and expressive. Writing this book may have been an excuse for me to draw cows, and to drive to Point Reyes and explore its beautiful dairies. I also went to the Clover Stornetta Creamery in Petaluma to see milk separated from cream, and Dreyer’s ice cream factory in Hayward to see ice cream production itself. It was so fun following the milk trail.
BEST OF THE BAY AREA — ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOK
“Throughout, the text is crystal clear, all facts summoned up and then tweaked with personality. A real person with a wry sense of humor shaped this information into a good story.”
— The New York Times
★ “Cooper’s deliciously diverting book tackles a subject of intrinsic appeal to kids.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
Dance!
2001
HarperCollins (August 1, 2001)
Reading age : 6 - 8 years
Order:
Dance!
I took a ballet class in college to improve my football. Years later, I returned to dance. This book is about how one dance performance comes together, from choreography to opening night. I went to Alvin Ailey and Mark Morris shows, and a modern dance class at Berkeley. Watching the dancers in that class — stretching, sweating, drinking water, practicing each move until they got it right — gave me such appreciation for the athleticism and work that goes into creating dance.
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOK
“[A] thoroughly contemporary look at a modern dance company at work.”
— The New York Times
★ “Few illustrators, save perhaps James Stevenson, can coax quite so much expression and animation from a few dashes of fine brushwork and a smear or two of watercolor fill.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“Cooper’s illuminating depiction of the many steps leading up to the grand event are deserving of enthusiastic applause.”
— Publishers Weekly
Building
1999
Greenwillow Books (April 30, 1999)
Reading age : 5 - 10 years
Order:
Building
After moving to California, I decided to write a children’s book about how a building gets built. In downtown Oakland I found construction sites filled with scaffolding and hammering. I also worked at a Habitat for Humanity site to get a deeper feel for construction. I love the progression of building: how it starts with an idea and an empty plot of land, then months of sawdust and sweat later, a structure is standing.
“Cooper constructs a cheerful tribute to a significant accomplishment.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Readers will come away with a real understanding of how a building comes into existence.”
— Kirkus
Ballpark
1998
Greenwillow Books (March 23, 1998)
Reading age : 5 - 8 years
Order:
Ballpark
To research this book I went to games at Fenway Park, Camden Yards, and Jacob’s Field. I saw inside Shea Stadium’s locker room. Mostly I took the subway up to Yankee Stadium and watched games and sketched. There’s something about the rhythms of baseball that lends itself to sketching. In college I wrote my senior essay about Ebbets Field (the Brooklyn home of the Dodgers), and how important a ballpark can be to its community. In this book I looked at the community inside the ballpark: groundskeepers, trainers, umpires, and fans.
RECOMMENDED BOOK, PARENTS CHOICE AWARDS
“Cooper catches it all here in whimsical watercolors.”
— The New York Times
“Children will be engaged for the full nine innings.”
— Kirkus
Country Fair)
1997
Greenwillow Books (August 19, 1997)
Reading age : 5 - 8 years
Order:
country fair
For my first children’s book, I spent a fall sketching country fairs in New England. I drew huge bulls, huge pumpkins, and lots of pies. I liked watching oxen pulls. Also log chopping and sheep shearing. What interested me most may have been different from the reality: fairs are a mess of fried food and funnel cakes and spilled soda. When I came home from the fairs I headed straight to the shower.