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Andy & Sandy and the Big Talent Show

Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
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About The Book

Andy and Sandy hit the stage in this fourth book of an easy-to-read picture book series about friendship—from Caldecott and Newbery Honoree Tomie dePaola and Emmy Award–winning writer for the Muppets Jim Lewis.

Outgoing Sandy convinces shy Andy to do a dance at the big talent show. The only problem? Andy doesn’t know how to dance! Luckily, Sandy is a good teacher. But when showtime finally arrives, it’s Sandy who freezes up! A true friend through and through, Andy overcomes his shyness to save the performance. Let’s give a standing ovation to friendship!

Written in simple words and short, declarative sentences, this book is perfect for little ones just learning to read on their own.

About The Authors

Photograph © Laurent Linn

Tomie dePaola (1934–2020) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of more than 270 books for young readers, including the children’s classic Strega Nona. He was the recipient of the Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, and the 2011 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for “significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature.” A native of Connecticut, Mr. dePaola studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of his life in New London, New Hampshire. Visit his work online at Tomie.com.

Photograph © Jim Lewis

Jim Lewis is an Emmy Award–winning writer and author who has been writing for frogs, pigs, and other Muppets since 1985, when he first met Jim Henson. In addition to working on various Muppet television, movie, and other projects, Lewis is cowriter of the Andy & Sandy series with Tomie dePaola; has “ghosted” books for Kermit the Frog (Look Before You Leap), Miss Piggy (The Diva Code), and Pepe the King Prawn (It’s Hard Out Here For a Shrimp); and served as executive producer of the Hallmark Channel series Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola. Lewis lives in Burbank, California, with his wife, Judy, and children, Danny and Mary Grace.

About The Illustrator

Photograph © Laurent Linn

Tomie dePaola (1934–2020) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of more than 270 books for young readers, including the children’s classic Strega Nona. He was the recipient of the Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, and the 2011 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for “significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature.” A native of Connecticut, Mr. dePaola studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of his life in New London, New Hampshire. Visit his work online at Tomie.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 13, 2017)
  • Length: 32 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781481479479
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

"The fourth installment of the series shows a more tender side of friendship...this is a story of two supportive friends who have each other’s backs. DePaola’s classic acrylic and colored pencil illustrations with rich colors and spare lines have plenty of action and facial expressions, giving necessary textual clues to emerging readers. VERDICT: This title should have a welcome home in most beginning reader collections."

– School Library Journal, March 2017

"A case of stage fright nearly thwarts Andy and Sandy's act in this latest installment of dePaola and Lewis' early-reader series.... Throughout, controlled text with just the right amount of repetition will bolster emergent readers' access and comfort with decoding, and dePaola's recognizable style will do the same in pictures that reinforce and expand the verbal story's content. Bravo!"

– Kirkus Reviews, April 2017

"The story reinforces the idea that different qualities (Sandy is confident, while Andy is more reserved) are often necessary for success in friendship and in life. Simple, predictable text combines with dePaola's sunny, upbeat art to create an early reader that should have wide appeal. The wordless spreads of the dance itself are priceless, and would-be thespians will enjoy the informative endpapers."

– Booklist, March 2017

“Simple page layouts, with few words and easy-to-interpret actions in the illustrations, make the text very easy to read for beginning readers. New readers often need encouragement to try new things, and Andy and Sandy are perfect fictional buddies to encourage youngsters to do just that. One can imagine kindergarteners putting on their own talent show, using the pictures and words from this favorite series as the basis for the show. Bravo!”

– The Horn Book, July/August 2017

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More books in this series: An Andy & Sandy Book