Jory John

Jory John is an American author of children's books. He is known for incorporating dark humor and discussing difficult topics in his books.^[1]

His books have landed on the New York Times bestseller list,^[2][3][4][5] including the first (The Good Egg) and second positions (The Bad Seed).^[6] He has also been an E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor recipient twice.^[6]

Career

Early in his career, Jory John volunteered, interned, then was hired as the programs director at 826 Valencia, an educational nonprofit in the Mission District of San Francisco, where he worked from 2004 to 2009.^[7] During his time there, he ideated, programmed, and created Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama.^[6][8]

John left his position at 826 Valencia to focus more on his own writing,^[7] publishing All My Friends Are Dead with Avery Monsen the following year.

Beyond books, John has written for the New York Times,^[9][10] The Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle,^[11][12][13] the Believer, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and BuzzFeed.

Books

Critter Jitters series

• First Day Critter Jitters (2020)
• Summer Camp Critter Jitters (2021)^[14][15]

The Food Group series

Main article: The Food Group

All The Food Group books were illustrated by Pete Oswald and published by HarperCollins.

• The Bad Seed (2017)^{[16][17][18][19][20]}
• The Good Egg (2019)^[21][22][23]
• The Cool Bean (2019)^[24][25][26]
• The Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape! (2020)
• The Couch Potato (2020)^[27][28][29]
• The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky (2021)
• The Smart Cookie (2021)^[30][31]
• The Sour Grape (2022)
• The Big Cheese (2023)

Animal Problems series

Main article: Animal Problems

The Animal Problems books were illustrated by Lane Smith and published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

• Penguin Problems (2016)^{[32][33][34][35]}
• Giraffe Problems (2018)^[36][37]
• Cat Problems (2021)^[38][39][40]

The Terrible Two series

Main article: The Terrible Two (book series)

The Terrible Two books were co-written with Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell, and published by Harry N. Abrams.

• The Terrible Two (2015)^{[41][42][43][44]}
• The Terrible Two Get Worse (2016)^[45][46]
• The Terrible Two Go Wild (2018)
• The Terrible Two's Last Laugh (2018)

Goodnight Already! series

The Goodnight Already! books were illustrated by Benji Davies and published by HarperCollins.

• Goodnight Already! (2014)^[47][48][49]
• I Love You Already! (2015)^[50][51][52]
• Come Home Already! (2017)^[53][54]
• All Right Already! (2018)^[55][56]

All My Friends ... series

The All My Friends... books were co-written with Avery Monsen and published by Chronicle Books.

• All My Friends Are Dead (2010)
• All My Friends Are Still Dead (2012)

Standalone books

• Pirate's Log: A Handbook for Aspiring Swashbucklers with Avery Monsen (2008)
• I Feel Relatively Neutral About New York with Avery Monsen (2011)
• K is for Knifeball: An Alphabet of Terrible Advice with Avery Monsen (2012)
• I Will Chomp You! (2015)^[57][58][59]
• Quit Calling Me a Monster! (2016)^[60][61][62]
• Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? (2018)^[63][64][65]
• I Miss You, Barack Obama: 44 Postcards for All Occasions to Send to Anyone Who Misses the 44th President (2018)
• That's What Dinosaurs Do (2019)^[66][67][68]
• It's Not My Fault! (2020)^[69][70][71]
• Something's Wrong!: A Bear, a Hare, and Some Underwear (2021)^[72][73][74]
• This Book Will Get You to Sleep! (2022)
• Definitely a Unicorn (2022)
• The Alderweireld Book (2023)

Editor

• Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama (2009)

References

1. "Finding the Humor in (Spite of) It All: A Chat with Bestselling Author Jory John". Brightly. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
2. "The Bad Seed". IndieBound. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
3. "The Cool Bean (The Food Group)". IndieBound. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
4. "The Couch Potato (The Food Group)". IndieBound. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
5. "The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky (The Food Group)". IndieBound. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
6. "About". Jory John. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
7. Wagner, David (8 January 2012). "Jory John SF hearts: 826 Valencia, Arizmendi". SFGATE. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
8. "'Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama' Edited by Jory John". The Therapeutic Care Journal. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
9. John, Jory (16 January 2009). "Opinion | Dear Mr. Obama". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
10. John, Jory (16 January 2009). "Opinion | Dear Sir Obama: Presidential Advice". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
11. John, Jory (18 August 2012). "'The Lost Prince,' by Selden Edwards". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
12. Monsen, Avery; John, Jory (5 February 2012). "That's Disgusting!". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
13. John, Jory (24 October 2010). "'The Man Who Invented the Computer'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
14. "Summer Camp Critter Jitters". Booklist. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
15. "Summer Camp Critter Jitters". Kirkus Reviews. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
16. "The Bad Seed". Kirkus Reviews. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
17. "The Bad Seed". Booklist. July 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
18. Russo, Maria (8 September 2017). "All Kinds of Outrageous Behavior in These New Picture Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
19. Costner, Suzanne (16 June 2017). "The Bad Seed by Jory John". School Library Journal. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
20. Costner, Suzanne. "The Bad Seed". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
21. "The Good Egg". Kirkus Reviews. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
22. Fletcher, Connie (1 January 2019). "The Good Egg". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
23. Hottle, Laken (1 February 2019). "The Good Egg". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
24. "The Cool Bean". Kirkus Reviews. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
25. Fletcher, Connie (3 January 2020). "The Cool Bean". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
26. Malixi, Kaitlin (1 January 2020). "The Cool Bean". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
27. "The Couch Potato". Kirkus Reviews. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
28. "The Couch Potato". Booklist. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
29. Joan, Kindig (1 December 2020). "The Couch Potato". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
30. "The Smart Cookie". Kirkus Reviews. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
31. "Smart Cookie". Booklist. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
32. "Penguin Problems". Kirkus Reviews. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
33. Hunter, Sarah (August 2016). "Penguin Problems". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
34. Black, Michael Ian (11 November 2016). "Is Life Fair? Four Picture Books Say No". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
35. Fleischacker, Joy. "Penguin Problems". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
36. "Giraffe Problems". Kirkus Reviews. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
37. Taylor, Lisa. "Giraffe Problems". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
38. "Cat Problems". Kirkus Reviews. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
39. Whitehurst, Lucinda (August 2021). "Cat Problems". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
40. Callegari, Catherine. "Cat Problems". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
41. "The Terrible Two". Kirkus Reviews. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
42. Blau, Amanda (1 June 2015). "The Terrible Two". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
43. "The Terrible Two". Booklist. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
44. Morefield, Juliet (1 January 2015). "The Terrible Two". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
45. "The Terrible Two Get Worse". Kirkus Reviews. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
46. "The Terrible Two Get Worse". Booklist. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
47. "Goodnight Already!". Kirkus Reviews. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
48. "Goodnight Already!". Booklist. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
49. McLeod, Marian. "Goodnight Already!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
50. "I Love You Already!". Kirkus Reviews. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
51. McBroom, Kathleen (3 December 2015). "I Love You Already!". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
52. Ludke, Linda. "I Love You Already!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
53. "Come Home Already!". Kirkus Reviews. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
54. Weitz, Susan (1 November 2017). "Come Home Already!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
55. "All Right, Already!". Kirkus Reviews. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
56. Roth, Kelly (1 November 2018). "All Right Already!: A Snowy Story". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
57. Cooper, Ilene (August 2015). "I Will Chomp You!". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
58. "I Will Chomp You!". Kirkus Reviews. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
59. Ludke, Linda. "I Will Chomp You!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
60. "Quit Calling Me a Monster!". Booklist. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
61. "Quit Calling Me A Monster!". Kirkus Reviews. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
62. Newberry, Brooke. "Quit Calling Me a Monster!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
63. "Can Someone Please Scratch My Back?". Booklist. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
64. "Can Someone Please Scratch My Back". Kirkus Reviews. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
65. Precopio, Jasmine L. (1 February 2018). "Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back?". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
66. "That's What Dinosaurs Do". Booklist. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
67. "That's What Dinosaurs Do". Kirkus Reviews. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
68. Lehmuller, Lisa (1 May 2019). "That's What Dinosaurs Do". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
69. "It's Not My Fault!". Booklist. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
70. "It's Not My Fault!". Kirkus Reviews. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
71. Joyner, Chance Lee (1 May 2020). "It's Not My Fault!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
72. Worthington, Becca (20 August 2021). "Something's Wrong!". Booklist. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
73. "Something's Wrong!". Kirkus Reviews. 25 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
74. John, Scott (1 April 2021). "Something's Wrong! A Bear, a Hare, and Some Underwear". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2021.

External links

• Official website