Books with author Jana Dillon

“Author-illustrator Jana Dillon shows a facility with caricature and mood, a way with color that extends from subtle shading to electric color combinations, and an ability to create a style that looks new yet recalls an earlier era of picture book illustration. . . . [Dillon] demonstrates an understanding of the dynamics of picture books as well as a knowledge of what children like.” —Booklist Every year pesky crows throw a party in a scarecrow’s patch, gobbling up all the pumpkins in sight and leaving a horrid mess. Not this year! Jeb is determined to protect his pumpkins no matter the cost. Those crows are in for an unpleasant surprise! Author and illustrator Jana Dillon conceived this as her first book. The rollicking dialogue, glowing scenes of evening mischief, and a scarecrow family of unusual charm have all stood the test of time in this inventive tale full of the radiance and excitement of the Halloween season, originally published in 1992.

A sweet confection about the first nesting dollsIn old Moscow live a girl named Sasha and her grandfather, a boxmaker. One day Sasha’s rag doll is eaten by mice. Her loving grandfather sets out to make her a doll that is impervious to mice, rats, cats, and even the Tsar’s cavalry. What can it be but seven carved wooden dolls nestled together to form one thumbling doll – the first matrioshka, or “little mother.” How Sasha’s grandfather comes to make the doll is at the heart of this warm intergenerational story, lavishly illustrated in brilliant watercolors and colored pencils.