The Stories Julian Tells

for ages 5 to 9

This book of five stories began the series of books about Julian Bates, his little brother Huey, and his best friend Gloria.

The first story tells of a very special pudding that Julian's and Huey's father made for their mother. The father promises, "It will taste like a whole raft of lemons, it will taste like a night on the sea." But when it's ready, the boys mustn't eat it, he warns--they must wait till their mother comes home. Then dad goes to take a nap, and the boys guard the pudding from harm.

But the pudding looks so good that they just can't wait--and a little taste turns to a little bigger taste and another, until the pudding is decimated, and the scared boys run to hide under the bed. How their father teaches the boys a lesson--the lesson that mistakes can be repaired--has made this a favorite of children the world over.

Other stories in the book are about catalog cats--cats that, Julian claims, jump out of seed catalogs; a fig tree Julian steals leaves from in the hope of growing strong, a baby tooth that won't fall out, and Julian's happiness in making a new friend--only a little embarrassed that she's a girl.

I always thought of Julian as Everychild, having experiences that belong to children the world over. Julian, his brother Huey, and his friend Gloria are African-American children, but the text never says so. This book has a richness of language that children love, and its black-and-white drawings--by the artist Ann Strugnell--are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen in a children's book.

Click here to see notes for teachers.

The Stories Julian Tells is an ALA Notable Children's Book, and was the winner of the Irma Simonton Black Award.

"You have to go a long way these days to find a book that leaves you feeling as happy as this one."--New York Times

"Glows with the mischief, magic and imagination of childhood."--Jim Trealease in The Read-Aloud Handbook

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