Illustrator & Author Profile
Ron Barrett
14 Books
Ron Barrett is an American illustrator and author best known for his detailed, witty artwork in children's books. He is especially famous for illustrating Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, written by Judi Barrett, along with other humorous picture books such as Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing and An Excessive Alphabet. He has also written and illustrated his own books, including Cats Got Talent and Cats Get Famous.
Hal, Dora, and Geneva can sing their whiskers off, but fame is not as simple as hitting the right note. When the trio of talented alley cats catches the attention of the greedy cat-hater Lekvar Smirk, he sees a chance to use their voices for his own prize-winning plan.
Soon the cats are swept toward Animal Idol, where bright lights, big dreams, and one very unpleasant schemer all collide. Ron Barrett’s playful picture-book comedy mixes music, mischief, and show-business silliness with three cats who are not as helpless as their kidnapper thinks.
Readers who enjoy funny animal stories, dramatic auditions, and clever cats will find plenty to purr over in this companion to Cats Got Talent.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
32 Pages
Dora, Geneva, and Hal do not have a home, but they do have voices, personality, and a dream big enough for three cats in one alley. Dora thinks about style, Geneva longs for love, and Hal has a talent for trouble. Together, they decide that music might be their way out.
Cats Got Talent follows the trio as they try to turn back-alley singing into a real chance at fame and belonging. Ron Barrett gives the story a comic, theatrical energy, with three very different cats learning whether they can make something special together.
This lively picture book is a good fit for readers who enjoy funny cat stories, musical dreams, and friendships that begin in unlikely places.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
32 Pages
This is not an ordinary ranch. The herds have paws, the cowhands are dogboys and doggirls, and the whole setup feels like the Wild West after someone let the dogs take over.
Hi-Yo Fido! gives young readers a goofy twist on ranch life, following how a place built for dogs becomes tangled up with the business of raising cows. Ron Barrett’s humor comes from treating the impossible as perfectly normal: a dog ranch, canine cowhands, and the kind of comic situation that gets funnier the longer you think about it.
With colorful illustrations and a playful premise, this picture book is a strong choice for readers who enjoy animal jokes, western-style silliness, and stories that turn familiar ideas upside down.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
32 Pages
The headlines are ridiculous, the advertisements are suspicious, and the weather report comes from people who are clearly guessing. The Nutty News looks like a newspaper, but every page turns ordinary news into pure silliness.
Ron Barrett fills this comic parody with fake articles, goofy interviews, sports, comics, advice columns, forecasts, and ads that reward close reading. You might find a teddy bear driving a cab, a strange political upset, or a school day that lasts only one minute. The fun comes from spotting how real newspapers work, then watching every serious section become wonderfully absurd.
Perfect for readers who like clever jokes, visual humor, and pages packed with surprising details, this book invites you to read, browse, and laugh like a very skeptical reporter.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
80 Pages
Old MacDonald does not need a barn. He has an apartment house.
In the middle of the city, this inventive building superintendent begins turning rooms, closets, kitchens, and bathrooms into places for crops and animals. Cabbages spread, carrots appear overhead, and the apartment house becomes more like a farm with every floor. It is a wonderfully ridiculous idea, especially once the building’s owner comes to collect the rent.
Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House is a funny picture book about imagination, city life, and a very unusual kind of farming. Young readers who enjoy offbeat humor will have fun seeing how far one person’s big idea can grow. The story also offers a playful look at vegetables, resourcefulness, and what happens when a familiar song gets a clever urban twist.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
32 Pages
The alphabet is hiding in plain sight. A is for Air, B is for Bare, C is for Clear, and every letter points to something you cannot quite see.
The Invisible Alphabet turns an ABC book into a quiet puzzle. Instead of showing obvious objects, Joshua David Stein offers words for things that are absent, unseen, or only suggested. Ron Barrett’s detailed illustrations give you clues, inviting you to look carefully and imagine what may have happened just before the picture, or what might happen next.
This thoughtful picture book is ideal for curious readers who like clever concepts, visual mysteries, and art that asks them to slow down. It makes the alphabet feel less like a list and more like a trail of hidden stories.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
25 Pages
The Town of Left and the Town of Right are divided by a dotted yellow line, guarded by knights with a very strange supply problem: their only ammunition is marshmallows.
When someone crosses the line, the situation quickly turns into a sticky, silly spectacle. Marshmallows fly, rules begin to look ridiculous, and the two towns have to face the question at the center of all the chaos: why were they separated in the first place?
The Marshmallow Incident is a zany picture book with wordplay, visual humor, and a gentle message about division and friendship. It is a good fit for readers who enjoy absurd conflicts, comic knights, and stories where a big problem is handled in the most unexpected way possible. Beneath the silliness, the book gives children an accessible way to think about fairness, difference, and getting along.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
36 Pages
A postcard from Grandpa sends Kate’s imagination back to Chewandswallow, the land where food once fell from the sky. Soon she and Henry are flying through a dreamlike world of giant pickles, enormous sandwiches, leafy green landscapes, and food big enough to need serious transportation.
This sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs keeps the same playful mix of food, weather, and tall-tale adventure, but it also adds a wider view of what might happen to all that extra food. The pictures are packed with strange, funny details, giving readers plenty to notice as the journey unfolds.
Pickles to Pittsburgh is a lively picture book for kids who like imaginative places, giant-food humor, and stories that feel almost like a dream. It is especially appealing to readers who want another trip into the deliciously strange world of Chewandswallow.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
32 Pages
A fish trying to behave like a person? A sheep doing something deeply silly? A panda with very human habits? This comic picture book imagines animals copying people and shows why the results are wonderfully absurd.
Each page turns a simple idea into a visual joke. The short, direct text gives young readers an easy path into the humor, while Ron Barrett’s detailed illustrations make the situations even funnier. Children can laugh at the impossible scenes while noticing how animals and people are different in clever, unexpected ways.
Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People is a playful companion to Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing. It is a strong choice for readers who enjoy animal books, silly comparisons, and picture books where the funniest part may be hiding in the illustration.
6-8 Years
32 Pages
A frog in a shirt? A crab in something delicate? A penguin in formalwear? This very silly picture book makes a strong case that animals are better off without human clothes.
In each scene, a new animal meets a new wardrobe problem, and the joke is easy to spot before the words even finish. Young readers can enjoy the quick, clever text while lingering over Ron Barrett’s detailed illustrations, where every hat, sleeve, button, and hemline becomes part of the fun.
Perfect for readers who like animal humor, visual jokes, and books that invite laughter on every page, this follow-up to Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing celebrates the wonderful absurdity of imagining animals dressed like people.
6-8 Years
38 Pages
The alphabet is not behaving quietly here. A is not just for apple; it comes with avalanches of A words. C arrives in crowds, D appears by the dozen, and each letter invites you to search, notice, and laugh your way through a busy world of words.
This playful picture book turns alphabet learning into a visual hunt. The alliteration is big, bouncy, and sometimes wonderfully ridiculous, while the detailed illustrations reward careful readers who like to spot hidden objects and discover new vocabulary.
For kids who already know their ABCs but are ready for richer wordplay, An Excessive Alphabet offers a clever, high-energy journey from A to Z. It works especially well for curious readers who enjoy language, puzzles, and picture books that can be explored again and again.
6-8 Years
9-12 Years
40 Pages
Benjamin loves his birthday so much that one day a year is not nearly enough. After the cake, presents, and party excitement are over, he comes up with a plan to stretch the celebration across all 365 days.
His idea is funny, clever, and just a little excessive: if he can keep opening presents, maybe every day can feel like a birthday. As Benjamin rewraps gifts and turns ordinary days into special ones, young readers get a playful story about excitement, wanting more, and the big imagination of a child determined to keep the fun going.
Benjamin’s 365 Birthdays is a humorous picture book for children who love birthday stories, surprises, and schemes that grow bigger than expected. It works especially well for readers who understand the joy of wishing a favorite day could last forever.
6-8 Years
48 Pages
A snake would lose a coat. A billy goat might eat one. A walrus would never keep anything dry. Page by page, this classic picture book proves that animals and clothing are a very bad match.
The fun comes from how obvious and how ridiculous each problem is. Young readers can predict the joke, laugh at the picture, and see how an animal’s own fur, feathers, scales, or skin already suit it perfectly. The short text makes the book easy to read aloud, while the precise, comic illustrations add extra humor to every scene.
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing is a playful favorite for children who enjoy animal books, silly logic, and visual comedy. It is simple enough for early readers but clever enough to keep the joke fresh.
6-8 Years
40 Pages
By
Judi Barrett
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Pictures by
Ron Barrett
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Collected by
Frank Schaffer Publications
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With
Frank Schaffer Publications
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner do not come from stores in Chewandswallow. They fall from the sky. Soup rains down, mashed potatoes snow, and storms can bring hamburgers instead of hail.
At first, life in this strange town sounds delicious. Everyone plans their days around the weather, and every forecast means something new to eat. But when the portions grow too large and the food-weather turns dangerous, the people of Chewandswallow must face a problem no ordinary town has ever seen.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a funny, imaginative picture book with a wonderfully unusual idea at its center. It is a strong choice for young readers who enjoy food, weather, tall tales, and stories where everyday life turns completely upside down.
6-8 Years
8 Pages
