A poultry version of Cinderella with a twist. Chickerella's life is dismal after her father remarries, but her flair for fashion gives her a whole new career. This book scheduled to be published by Holiday House in Spring 2005

"What better messenger than Henrietta and this clever tale, hilariously illustrated in wonderfully expressive, super-silly cartoon pictures. A good choice to celebrate reading during Children's Book Week--or anytime." - Booklist

Henrietta is a chicken who would rather read than lay an egg. No wonder she isn't invited on the vacation trip with her hard-working aunties. But when Henrietta reads the words Souper Soup Company on the truck that is taking her aunties away, she knows that they are headed for hot water!

It's up to Henrietta to use her reading skills to track down and save the hens' tail feathers before her beloved aunties become the soup of the day.

"What better messenger than Henrietta and this clever tale, hilariously illustrated in wonderfully expressive, super-silly cartoon pictures. A good choice to celebrate reading during Children's Book Week--or anytime." - Booklist

A tall ghostly being is frightening the farm animals right out of the barn. It could only be the legendary poultrygeist . The animals are terrified to sleep inside the barn, but they're freezing out in the yard. It's up to two smart-aleck roosters who suspect fowl play to uncover the surprising secret behind the Halloween haunting in this hilarious tale.

"Splashed with bright colors and featuring big-eyed poultry, the cartoon illustrations bounce across the pages with cinematic perspectives. In art and text, the humor shines in this holiday tale. A Halloween book that kids will crow about." - School Library Journal

Prince Drupert needs a true princess to be his bride. Princess Paulina knows the perfect candidate -- herself. But when Paulina arrives at Blom Castle, eleven other princesses are also vying for the job, and what an unusual group they are.
The heated contest is on in this hilarious fractured fairy tale that takes a lighthearted look at the pros and cons of princessing as a career choice.

"The illustrations, representing the wife-and-husband team's first picture-book collaboration, resemble those in Mary Jane Auch's previous works. They are just as witty yet considerably more detailed. This sassy send-up seems likely to deliver a royal case of the giggles." - Publisher's Weekly

Elizabeth has a new teacher with a lovely name -- Miss Turtledove. But her name is the only thing lovely about her. She has purple hair, orange eyes,and hairy knuckles that scrape along the floor. Elizabeth knows right away what the problem is. Miss Turtledove is...a troll! Worse than that, she's a hungry one!

Now Elizabeth has to find a way to reveal the truth about her teacher to her parents and the school administrators before Miss Turtledove's teaching techniques become even more hair-raising.

Vivian Vande Velde's witty text matched with Mary Jane Auch's hilarious art will keep readers laughing one monstrous page after another.
"As in her young adult novels, Vande Velde vividly captures a young person's feelings about being the only one in the world who really understands what's going on. The illustrations are as wacky, vibrant, and colorful as the story itself." - Booklist
"Vivian Vande Velde and Mary Jane Auch capture the frustration of being too small to be heard, and too smart to ignore what's right in front of your very eyes, in a wonderfully witty book that will speak straight to the hearts of young readers everywhere." - Amazon.com

When Clara the duckling hears the older animals whispering, she demands to know what they're saying. They won't tell her, but she listens very, very carefully and finds out they're talking about something called Christmas.

But what is Christmas? Where is Christmas? No one will answer her pestering questions. So Clara embarks on a journey, one that will take her to the most wonderful place of all. "Auch's illustrations provide droll counterpoints to the text: Clara's mountain at the top of the world is really a haystack in a field, the ferocious beast with large eyes is an abandoned farm vehicle, etc. Those who revel in Auch's unique brand of quips, jests, and irreverent humor will not be disappointed, and newcomers will just laugh themselves silly. " - Kirkus

Luigi may have been born a bantam rooster, but he has the soul of a musician. When his musical variations on the boring "Cock-a-doodle-doo" get him in trouble with the head rooster, Luigi takes to wandering away from the hen house where his talents are not appreciated. Then one day, roosting on the farmer's front porch. Luigi hears something on the radio that will change his life forever--opera!

When the Cosmopolitan Opera Company comes to town for a performance of Rigoletto , Luigi stows away in the back of the farmer's truck for a fateful trip to the city. Suddenly, both the lead tenor and his understudy come down with mysterious red spots on the last night of the performance, and the little bantam finally gets his chance to be a star. This is a hilarious celebration of the power of big dreams. "The text, brimming with jokes, puns, and alliteration, compounds the delicious humor of the artwork...will bring down the house with every repeat performance." - School Library Journal (starred review)
"Bored with the traditional 'cock-a-doodle-doo,' Luigi experiments with variations on the theme--much to the annoyance of the head rooster...The brightly colored illustrations capture the exaggerated humor of the text." - Booklist
"Auch earns a feather in her cap for her deadpan presentation of absurdity and triumph." - Publishers Weekly

Pauline is a hen with a special talent. She can lay an egg that has an image on its surface of whatever she sees. One day, the director of the Big City Art Gallery invites Pauline and her owner, Mrs. Pennywort, to an exhibit of famous paintings. The director asks Pauline to lay one egg for each of the paintings. Pauline is inspired...and gets carried away. Instead of copying the paintings, she does her own creations. But her talents come in really handy when an art thief tries to steal a Degas painting. Pauline provides clues to the burglary with her egg-laying skills and becomes a heroine in this hilarious companion to The Easter Egg Farm .

"Of several recent picture-book takeoffs on the world of fine art, this is perhaps the daffiest and most delightful...Energetic, brightly colored paintings catch the melodrama and broad comedy perfectly, with Pauline's expressive face adding plenty of humor all its own. As a bonus, Auch identifies the famous artworks Pauline tries to copy." - Booklist
"A terrific spoof on reality." - School Library Journal

Poulette is not like other hens. Instead of scratching for bugs and laying eggs, she practices pirouettes and grand jetes. When Percival, a pompous, obnoxious peacock, moves into the barnyard, Poulette challenges him to a talent show. For her act, she coaches the other hens to perform with her in a ballet Hen Lake . How Poulette inspires her chicken corps de ballet to give the performance of their lives proves what Poulette has known all along: "An ordinary hen can be anything she wants to be, but under those fancy feathers, a peacock is just a long-necked chicken."

"The illustrations are great. Robust, expressive, and delightfully silly..." - Booklist
"An fine choice for picture book shelves." - School Library Journal

Poulette the hen wants to be a famous ballerina. Every day, she does warm-up exercises, dreams of stardom, and dances her heart out.

One day a fox appears. he tells Poulette that he's a talent scout from New York City who can help fulfill her dream. But does he really want to advance her career or is he more interested in eating her for dinner? Poulette finds out in an uproarious climax--and teaches the fox a lesson that he'll never forget!
"Auch sends a positive message about an inspiring heroine who believes in her dreams and herself." - School Library Journal (starred review)
"The old chicken-versus-the-fox plot gets a delightful new twist...this will be fun for anyone." - Booklist
"...prose that's almost as exuberant as Auch's vibrant illustrations of the brashly stylized chicken swooping and swirling in a gorgeous array of harmoniously clashing colors. Grand fun." - Kirkus Reviews

Poor Pauline. Every time she tries to lay an egg, she can't concentrate because of the squabbling in the henhouse. The other hens accuse Pauline of being lazy, but she says she's just different. Then a wonderful thing happens. Pauline concentrates very hard--and she lays a very unusual egg. It has a pattern on it like the straw in the henhouse.

Pauline is inspired to lay more eggs, and each one comes out with a new design. One resembles a ladybug, another is sky-blue with clouds. Mrs. Pennywort is thrilled. "Hey, I get it," she says to Pauline. "The egg comes out looking like whatever you see, right?"

Pauline's eggs are so beautiful that they attract attention. A bunch get ordered for the annual Easter egg hunt in town. But then, disaster strikes!

What happens next to an unusual hen who lays unusual eggs makes this a very unusual Easter story.

AWARDS: Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (North Dakota), Golden Archer Awards (Wisconsin)
"With its engaging, expressive feathered heroine, Auch's spirited yarn is a genuine charmer--for Easter or anytime." - Booklist (starred review)
"Eggs-act-ly right." - Publisher's Weekly
"...its popularity won't be limited to the Easter season." - School Library Journal
"Sure to appeal."- Kirkus Reviews

Blue is a hunting dog who hates to hunt. Every year he dreads picking up the dead ducks and carrying them back to the boat.

One day Blue's owner takes aim at a line of geese. BANG! A goose drops to the ground. Blue finds Goose alive but unable to fly. He offers to help her walk to South, a place Goose describes as warm and wonderful.

The two friends set out on their journey, but South is farther away than they had thought. Weeks pass and snow begins to fall. They are hopelessly lost, but Goose's wing has healed and she is ready to fly again. Poor Blue--he can't fly, even though he is a bird dog. Will Goose leave him?

This is a heartwarming story about friendship and the struggle of two animals to stay together, despite the pull of nature.
"Auch's unpretentious, painterly style serves as a good foil for the story's sweet sentimentality. Blue's visage clearly shows his canine sadness and delight, and the brightly colored details and bold backgrounds of the pictures aptly reflect the warmhearted feeling of the story. A tale of the ups and downs of friendship that will please the kindergarten set." - Booklist
"Sure to appeal as a story of true-blue friendship." - School Library Journal

The animals are lining up in alphabetical order to board Noah's Ark. Lester the Aardvark arrives late, and Noah tells him, "You should have been first in line. I already have two aarvarks. Now I'm up to the B's. Step aside, aardvark, and let the bears pass." But Lester won't give up. He disguises himself as a camel, an elephant--even a tiger--but he can't fool Noah. Then he comes up with a plan that just might work.