Judi Barrett facts for kids

Judi Barrett (born in 1941) is an American author and art teacher. She is famous for writing fun picture books for kids. Some of her most well-known books are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing.

About Judi Barrett

Judi Barrett grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She went to the Pratt Institute, a famous art school. In 1962, she earned a degree in advertising design.

After college, Judi worked as a freelance designer. This means she worked for different advertising companies on various projects. Later, she decided to become a teacher.

Her Teaching Career

In 1968, Judi started teaching art and woodworking to young children. She loved teaching and kept learning herself. She took special classes about teaching young kids. She also studied painting and pottery at the Brooklyn Museum. Judi even taught painting to children at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Writing Books for Kids

While at the Pratt Institute, Judi met an illustrator named Ron Barrett. They soon got married. Judi and Ron worked together on their first two books. These were Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House and Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing.

Their most famous book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, was created later in 1978. This book tells the story of a town where food falls from the sky like rain! It quickly became a beloved classic. The book was even made into an animated movie in 2009. A sequel movie followed in 2013.

Today, Judi Barrett still teaches at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, New York. She also continues to write new and exciting children's books.

Selected Books by Judi Barrett

• Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1969
• Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1970
• An Apple a Day (illustrated by Tim Lewis), 1973
• Benjamin's 365 Birthdays (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1974
• Peter's Pocket (illustrated by Julia Noonan), 1974
• I Hate to Take a Bath (illustrated by Charles B. Slackman), 1975
• I Hate to Go to Bed (illustrated by Ray Cruz), Four Winds Press, 1977
• The Wind Thief (illustrated by Diane Dawson), 1977
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1978
• Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1980
• I'm Too Small, You're Too Big (illustrated by David S. Rose), 1981
• A Snake Is Totally Tail (illustrated by L. S. Johnson), 1983
• What's Left?, 1983
• Pickles Have Pimples, and Other Silly Statements (illustrated by L. S. Johnson), 1986
• Pickles to Pittsburgh: The Sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1997
• Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 1998
• The Things That Are Most in the World (illustrated by John Nickle), 1998
• I Know Two Who Said Moo: A Counting and Rhyming Book (illustrated by Daniel Moreton), 2000
• Which Witch Is Which? (illustrated by Sharleen Collicott), 2001
• Never Take a Shark to the Dentist (and Other Things Not To Do) (illustrated by John Nickle), 2008
• The Marshmallow Incident (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 2009
• The Complete Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (illustrated by Ron Barrett), 2009
• Santa from Cincinnati (illustrated by Kevin Hawks), 2012
• Planet of the Pies: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3 (illustrated by Isidre Monés), 2013