Don M. Winn’s award-winning picture books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, and Audible.com.
All of my award-winning picture books are designed to help parents turn children into readers by teaching valuable literacy and pre-literacy skills. Ideal for shared reading time, each story has a list of questions for discussion at the end to help parents engage their children’s minds and teach them not to be passive receivers of entertainment, but to think about what they’ve read both analytically and creatively—or “outside the book” as I like to call it.
There’s a Monkey in My Backpack!
There’s a Monkey in my Backpack! is the story of Anna, a third-grade student who has an unusual companion—a monkey in her backpack! Not everyone can see him, but he causes a lot of trouble for Anna by mixing up her spelling letters, distracting her in class, and making it hard to keep up with the other kids. He causes so many problems for her that Anna wonders if she will ever make it to the end of third grade with the other children. But she learns that her troublesome monkey companion can also be a big help to her if she lets herself understand, accept, and appreciate her unique situation.
This book is designed for parents and educators to read with their dyslexic children and students to help them understand both the troubles and benefits that accompany dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Reading and discussing this book together will encourage children to vocalize their own feelings about having a learning difference. This is one of Don M. Winn’s award-winning picture books, receiving a Distinguished Favorite ranking in the 2019 NYC Big Book Awards.
Also check out my nonfiction book for parents and educators, Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know.
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Space Cop Zack
The three Space Cop Zack books are designed to help children foster imagination as Space Cop Zack and his robot sidekick GARG have zany space adventures based on Zack’s imagination and common household objects. Each Space Cop Zack book has a surprise illustration at the end where kids can see which household items inspired Zack’s adventures and try to match them up to events in the story.
Space Cop Zack, Protector of the Galaxy
Space Cop Zack and his faithful robot sidekick GARG chase the terrible Dr. Dogbreath across the galaxy. Together they brave bad smells, squishy slime, giant ocean monsters, and motion sickness. Will Zack and GARG finally capture Dr. Dogbreath or will he escape their grasp? That will all depend on where your imagination takes you.
This is one of Don M. Winn’s award-winning picture books, taking first place in the UK Wishing Shelf Book Award, among other awards.
Watch the Space Cop Zack video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Space Cop Zack, GARG’s Secret Mission
The notorious General Electric has captured Space Princess Dendra! GARG the robot goes on a secret mission to rescue her, but when Mission Control loses contact with GARG, Space Cop Zack must search for him in the Windy Cavern of Doom. Will Zack find GARG and help rescue the princess before it’s too late? Will Zack finally defeat General Electric? It all depends on your imagination.
This is one of Don M. Winn’s award-winning picture books, having received the silver medal in the UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards.
Watch the GARG’s Secret Mission video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Space Cop Zack, the Lost Treasure of Zandor
Zack and his robot sidekick GARG race the infamous Captain and his trio of evil minions—Gormag the Grievous, Noot the Tall and Terrible, and GARG’s nemesis, the gigantic robot Cantobor—as they scale the Colossal Cliffs of Pantera in search of the lost treasure of Zandor.
Watch The Lost Treasure of Zandor video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Superhero
Superhero is the story of a young boy with big dreams and a mask and cape. He dreams every night that he is an amazing hero. He can conquer any villain and the whole city relies on him for help. But when he meets up with two nightmarish foes, he knows that even a superhero needs to have someone he can call on for help. This story is about how a dad can be the real hero to his son. It also helps open discussions about what makes a real hero and how everyone can be a hero to someone else.
This is one of Don M. Winn’s award-winning picture books, taking both the gold medal and best of the year awards from the Family Review Center.
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
The Higgledy-Piggledy Pigeon
The Higgledy-Piggledy Pigeon is about a homing pigeon named Hank who is an eager new student in flight school. He loves school until he discovers he has no sense of direction. Is this the end of his dreams? Maybe he should just quit. But a kind teacher shows him how he can compensate for his problem and still succeed. This story is about how everyone learns in different ways, and how anyone can succeed–even despite a learning problem – with the right kind of help and effort!
Watch the Higgledy-Piggledy Pigeon video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
The Tortoise and the Hairpiece
The Tortoise and the Hairpiece is the story of a lonely young tortoise named Jake who is embarrassed by his bald head. Even though other animals invite him to play, he keeps to himself, positive that nobody will really want to be his friend because he looks different. When he tries to look like everyone else, it doesn’t quite work the way he planned, but he learns that no one needs to try to be someone else or look like someone else just to make friends.
Watch The Tortoise and the Hairpiece video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Twitch the Squirrel and the Forbidden Bridge
Twitch the Squirrel and the Forbidden Bridge is a story about a bold, confident squirrel named Twitch who is something of a daredevil…and he doesn’t mind when his friends cheer him on! When his parents forbid him to cross an old broken rope bridge across a deep, dark ravine, he doesn’t understand why. He can do anything! And there’s a tree full of nuts just across the bridge! In this story, Twitch learns the importance of respecting his parents’ rules.
Watch the Twitch the Squirrel and the Forbidden Bridge video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Shelby the Cat
Shelby the cat is kind and caring. He loves to read and tell stories. He’s friends with mice and birds and bugs. This makes the alley cats angry and jealous because Shelby makes them look bad. When they try to force Shelby to be like them, he refuses. Shelby knows who he is and what he wants to be and doesn’t let anyone pressure him to be different. This story is about resisting negative peer pressure and can help to start discussions about how to handle the problem of bullying.
Watch the Shelby the Cat video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
The Incredible Martin O’Shea
The Incredible Martin O’Shea is the story of a first-grader with a great imagination. He finds his daydreams so interesting that he doesn’t pay attention in school. His grades fall, and his parents are not happy about it. Then a visitor to his class says something that changes his life. Martin learns that education can help him make his dreams reality, and that imagination plus learning can lead to real life adventures.
Watch The Incredible Martin O’Shea video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
The Watch Cat
The Watch Cat tells the tale of an ordinary house cat that stops a robbery and becomes a neighborhood hero, permanently changing the way the neighbors think of cats. Watch Cat is a typical cat. He does what cats do best. And somehow, he manages to be a better watch cat than all the watchdogs in the neighborhood simply by being himself. This story is about appreciating the differences between dogs and cats and understanding that anybody can be a hero.
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Chipper the Clown
Chipper only wants to make people laugh. So he packs up his things and joins the circus as a clown. Then he is embarrassed when he finds out he isn’t good at it. Nobody thinks he’s funny. Who ever heard of a clown in a pinstriped suit? So what will Chipper do? He turns to the older, more experienced clowns for some good advice. This story is about the benefits of asking the right people for help and not giving up when following a dream.
Watch the Chipper the Clown video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
Chipper and the Unicycle
In this sequel to Chipper the Clown, Chipper travels the world in search of a new act to keep the crowds entertained…a unicycle seems like just the thing! How hard could it be since he already can ride a bicycle? After only one day of trying, Chipper takes the unicycle back to the store in frustration. He learns that you have to work long and hard to make something look easy. In the end, Chipper understands that some pursuits take time and effort to master, and he learns the importance of perseverance.
Watch the Chipper and the Unicycle video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.
The Don M. Winn CBA Picture Book Collection Volume 1
Four great picture books in one volume: In The Tortoise and the Hairpiece, Jake learns that true friends love him for who he is inside, not what he looks like. In The Watch Cat, an ordinary cat becomes a neighborhood hero by saving his house from a burglar. In The Incredible Martin O’Shea, Martin learns that by paying attention in school, he can make his dreams come true. In Shelby the Cat, Shelby resists bullying and peer pressure by staying true to what matters most to him.
Watch the Don M. Winn Picture Book Collection Volume 1 Video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, and Audible.com.
The Don M. Winn CBA Picture Book Collection Volume 2
Four great picture books in one volume: In Chipper the Clown, Chipper learns that in order to follow his dreams, he needs to ask for help. In Chipper and the Unicycle, after searching the world for a new act, Chipper learns the importance of perseverance. In The Higgledy-Piggledy Pigeon, Hank discovers that having a learning challenge can’t stop him from succeeding. In Twitch the Squirrel and the Forbidden Bridge, Twitch finds out that his parents have good reasons for the rules they make.
Watch the Don M. Winn Picture Book Collection Volume 2 Video!
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.