Cynthia DeFelice - children's author and storyteller

One Potato, Two Potato
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
pictures by Andrea U’Ren
© 2006

Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady’s lives are changed when they discover a magic pot buried in their potato patch. They always longed for enough food to eat, sufficient candles to light the darkness, and friends with whom to share their lives. In this touching and comical story, they get all that - and more!

Old Granny and the Bean Thief
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
pictures by Cat Bowman Smith
© 2003

Old Granny loves to eat beans. But when a bean thief comes to her house three nights in a row, she decides to go to town to tell the sheriff. On the way, she meets a snake, a pecan, a prickly pear cactus, an alligator, and a cow poop---all of whom talk to her, of course.

The Real, True Dulcie Campbell
by Cynthia DeFelice
pictures by R.W. Alley
© 2002

Children often fantasize about what it would be like to be someone else. Dulcie, who lives on a farm and has the job of mucking out the chicken coop, can’t believe that this is the life she was born for. Surely she is truly a princess. Her real mother must be an elegant queen, her real father a stately king. The boy running around with her underpants on his head can’t possibly be her real brother, and the dog that just rolled in a dead opossum can’t be her real dog can it?

Cold Feet
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker
© 2000

When Willie McPhee, the finest bagpipe player in all of Scotland, goes looking for customers who have a wee bit extra to spend on merriment, he finds more than he bargained for. On a cold, wet, miserable night, Willie trips over a tree trunk in the dark. Peering closer, he sees that the fallen tree isn't a tree at all, but a man, a DEAD man, lying stone cold frozen in the snow.

Clever Crow
by Cynthia DeFelice
illustrations by S.D.Schindler
© 1998

A story told in nimble rhymes about a clever crow and the even more clever little girl who outsmarts him.

Willy's Silly Grandma
by Cynthia DeFelice
pictures by Shelley Jackson
© 1997

Scoffing at his grandmother’s silly superstitions, which she tells him have been passed on from generation to generation in their family, young Willy tests her story about the boogeyman when he walks by the Big Swamp one night.

Casey in the Bath
by Cynthia DeFelice
pictures by Chris L. Demarest
© 1996

Originally published in Cricket magazine, the story of a reluctant bather finds young Casey changing his tune when he creates a tubful of bubbly playmates from a bottle of gooey green bath gel.

Three Perfect Peaches : A French Folktale
by Cynthia DeFelice and Mary Demarsh
pictures by Irene Trivas
© 1995

In this spin on a time-honored plot, a king promises his ailing daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who can grant her wish for three perfect peaches.

A funny retelling of a classic folktale tells how a city slicker, who has recently moved to the country and has been sold “mule eggs” that are really just pumpkins by a crafty farmer, manages to have the last laugh.

Grandpa introduces Maggie to the magic of the natural world during her visit to the country, during which she witnesses hailstones in the summer, dancing mayflies, and a wren's nest lined with her own hair.

Aaron Kelly is dead but not lamented. He’s so ornery, in fact, that he won’t stay in his coffin but comes home to haunt his widow. How she ultimately gets Aaron back into his grave makes for a funny rather than scary story that will delight children.

picture books