Robert Munsch
Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology. He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centers. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University. In 1975 he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with. Munsch's wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980. Out of the tragedy, he produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever. This book was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Best selling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6,970,000 copies (not including the 1,049,000 hardcover copies). The Munsches have since become adoptive parents of Julie, Andrew and Tyya (see them all in Something Good!) Munsch has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has also suffered from manic depression. In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his ability to speak in normal sentences. He has recovered enough that he is able to perform live, but has put his writing career on hold until he is fully recovered.
30 Books Written
An extraordinarily different story by Robert Munsch is a gentle affirmation of the love a parent feels for their child—forever."A young woman holds her newborn son and looks at him lovingly. Softly she sings to him: "I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."So begins the story that has touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Since publication in l986, "Love You Forever" has sold more than 15 million copies in paperback and the regular hardcover edition (as well as hundreds of thousands of translated copies around the world). Sheila McGraw's soft and colorful pastels perfectly complement the sentiment of the book—one that will be read repeatedly for years.
"Elizabeth was a beautiful princess. She lived in a castle and had expensive princess clothes..." A fearsome dragon leaves Elizabeth only a paper bag to clothe herself. But unswayed, she will chase after the dragon and get back what is hers. What about the Prince?
None of the kids in her class wear a ponytail, so Stephanie decides she must have one. The loud, unanimous comment from her classmates is: “Ugly, ugly, very ugly.” Steadfast, when all the girls have copied her ponytail, she resolves to try a new style. With true Munsch flair, each of Stephanie’s ponytails is more outrageous than the last, while the cast of copycats grows and grows.
Thomas refuses to wear his new snowsuit despite the pleas of his mother, his teacher, and even his principal.
Brigid really loves markers. But when she draws on herself with super-permanent ink, she knows that spells trouble.
Mortimer is the story “... of a little boy who won’t go to sleep at night and who drives his family crazy with his rowdiness ... [It] reads as though it was written by a parent driven frantic by one of the contemporary but compulsive stages of childrearing ... [It is] of tremendous appeal to kids and parents at the same stage.”—Globe and Mail
The ever-popular story of a little boy in the throes of toilet training.
Jason’s dad falls asleep everywhere … except in his own bed. All night long, Jason gets woken up by strange noises that lead him to find his dad in the most unexpected places—from on top of the refrigerator to the freezing cold woods outside his house. In order to finally get a good night’s sleep, Jason musters up all of his resources and comes up with a most unexpected solution—tying his dad’s toe to the bathroom doorknob to keep him in place.
“Something good” is exactly what Tyya, Andrew and Julie want to put into their shopping cart. Tyya’s dad won’t buy anything good at the store—no ice cream, no candy, no cookies. But when Daddy gets fed up and tells Tyva to "Stand here and Don't Move!" Tyva knows she's in big trouble... and that's when the story becomes Munsch's own, witty and warm.
What in the world is Robin going to do with the baby she finds in her sandbox? “Murmel, murmel, murmel,” is all Robin hears coming from a hole in her sandbox. When she reaches down and out pops a baby, she finds herself in a real fix: who will take care of it? Robin’s too little! Off she goes, searching her neighborhood for someone who needs a baby. The woman with seventeen cats doesn’t want the baby. Nor does the grumpy man by the bus stop. It looks as though all hope is lost, until a friendly truck driver passes by. He offers to trade his truck for the baby—an exchange Robin can’t refuse.
Whenever Jule Ann goes outside, a Mud Puddle jumps on her and gets her muddy all over. But she defeats it with cheerful ingenuity and two bars of smelly yellow soap. As in all Munsch stories, kids are the heroes!
Megan is told to feed the pigs, but not to open the gate. She does of course, and the results are hilarious as the pigs help themselves to coffee and the newspaper at the breakfast table, follow Megan to school, and ride home by way of the school bus. Full-color illustrations.
From Robert Munsch, storyteller extraordinaire and author of the runaway best-seller LOVE YOU FOREVER, comes this laugh-out-loud family tale!Kristen's parents just can't seem to do anything right. First they have their baby at the zoo, not in a hospital. Then, they accidentally bring home an baby alligator instead! After it bites everyone on the nose, they return to the zoo and come back with a baby seal! Kristen sees that she will have to solve this problem herself. She bikes to the zoo and finds their baby with . . . a gorilla mommy. When the baby bites the gorilla on the nose, Kristen sees her chance--and takes home her new baby brother!
"A Promise Is a Promise" is about the Qallupilluq (plural, Qallupilluit), an imaginary creature like a troll, that lives in the Hudson’s Bay or resides in icebergs. The Qallupilluit wear women’s parkas of loon feathers, are grotesque-looking, and grab children who come too near the shore or stand too close to cracks in sea ice. The main character in the story is Allashua, a young Inuk girl.
Bestselling team Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko create another funny adventure about a girl named Tina, who loves her brand-new socks so much that she's never ever going to take them off!Tina loves her brand-new socks so much that she's never ever going to take them off! But when her wonderful socks start to get smelly, her friends have to take action!
Julie learns that families come in all shapes—and sizes.
Best-selling author and illustrator team Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko have created another adventure about Andrew, his loose tooth, and the wacky ways friends and family try to pull it out!"Yeow!" shouts Andrew. "Do something about my loose tooth. It hurts to much I can't eat my apple." Andrew's dad breaks his pliers trying to pull that tooth. Andrew's dentist can't pull it either--not even by tying a rope to Andrew's tooth and driving off in his car. The Tooth Fairy is a biker chick who says, "This is the first tooth ever that I can't pull out!"Andrew's best friend, Louis, ends up saving the day with his special tooth-removing remedy--lots and lots of pepper up Andrew's nose!
Moira invites grades 1 to 6 to her party. But her parents don’t know—until …
While looking for her lost father at the airport, Angela ends up in the front of the plane. She decides to push just one button, and then another ... and another ...
On the first day of school, after their kindergarten teacher scolds them for not sharing, a boy and girl share their clothes and shoes.
Michael and Sheila explore a fire station, looking at all the hoses, boots, and even the fire trucks.
Best-selling author/illustrator duo Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko create a wacky classroom story as Christopher offers some of his mysteriously "delicious" cookies to his parents and teacher!Christopher's playdough cookies may look delicious, but when he tricks his parents and teacher into eating them, they soon realize that these "cookies" are NOT what they seem! When they decide to give Christopher a taste of his own medicine, and he falls for his very own trick, the entire class is in for an hysterical adventure!With a playdough recipe included, here is yet another off-beat story from the author of bestseller LOVE YOU FOREVER, bound to have kids and cookie fans of all ages cheering for more.
Best-selling author Robert Munsch has created this humorous story about Amy, a little girl reluctant to get out of bed, even when her mother stands her on her feet!What will get sleepy Amy out of bed? Not her brother's yell. Not her father's stern command. Not even her mother's trick of standing Amy up on her feet! So they do the only thing they can--they tuck her back into bed! Amy's father picks up one end of the bed and Amy's mother and brother pick up the other. They lug it out the door, down the street, around the corner, through the school yard, and into the school. Amy's classmates spend the entire day trying to get sleeping Amy through her school activities.
Ben wreaks havoc at school when he decides to bring his baby sister for show and tell.
Best-selling author and illustrator Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko create another madcap adventure about a little girl named Julie, her love of makeup, and how she learns that "less is more."Julie has saved up lots of money--$100! Depsite her mother's concerns, Julie spends it all on cosmetics, including plenty of lipstick, eyeshadow, and perfume. Once it's on her face, she fancies herself as pretty as a movie star, but her parents' reactions are less than complimentary. The same goes for the mailman, who falls right over! After she washes it all off, her mother and father think she's merely using less of it, and praise her looks--and Julie slyly ends up selling all of the products to the neighborhood kids for her new hobby--dress up!
Shelley finds a small boy in her drawer who causes a lot of trouble. Robert Munsch's award-winning books have become a staple on the bookshelves of families worldwide. His stories reflect the joys and challenges of everyday living, offering zany, yet utterly normal, experiences of family life. Munsch has sold over 40 million books in 20 countries and many languages, including French, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Beginning with Mud Puddle in 1979, Munsch continued captivating children and adults with stories like Thomas's Snowsuit, David's Father, I Have to Go!, and the classic Love You Forever.
A subway stops in Jonathan’s apartment, and out pour thousands of commuters and their litter.
Best-selling author Robert Munsch and illustrators Alan & Lea Daniel have created another adventure--starring Aaron whose hair takes on a mind of its own, much to the dismay of his neighbors.Aaron grows his hair long to look like his father. But the hair is unruly, and one day while combing it, Aaron says "Hair, I hate you!" Suddenly the hair jumps off Aaron's head and runs away! With Aaron in frantic pursuit, it attaches itself to people and things all over the neighborhood, resulting in a huge traffic jam. Aaron is finally reunited with his hair--but not quite in the way he or his family planned!
Now in paperback, here's another rollicking collaboration of Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. Young daredevil Lauretta puts her brand-new wheelchair to the ultimate test--and saves her brother!Lauretta's mother takes her to buy a new wheelchair, but Lauretta isn't satisfied with a regular five-speed or ten-speed model. No, she insists on the 92-speed, black, silver, and red dirt-bike wheelchair. When she gets a speeding ticket during a one-day tryout, her parents insist that the chair be returned to the store . . . until Lauretta's older brother has an accident and only one person can whisk him to the hospital on time--Lauretta, in her amazing wheelchair!
Best- selling team Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko create another funny adventure about a boy named Lance, who finds an inventive way of getting more candy on Halloween.Lance loves dressing up for Halloween. This year, instead of wearing a store-bought mask, he paints his face very, very scary. When Lance goes trick-or-treating, his scary face spooks his neighbors so much that they fall over--leaving him all their candy! Lance uses his horrid face to steal more candy than he can carry. But in the end, he he has so much candy that he decides to share with his neighbors.