Judi Barrett facts for kids

Judi Barrett, born in 1941, is an American author and art teacher. She is famous for writing many wonderful picture books for children. Two of her most well-known books are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing.

About Judi Barrett's Life

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.

Her Career in Art and Teaching

After college, Judi worked as a freelance designer. This means she worked for different advertising companies. Later, she decided to become a teacher. In 1968, she started teaching art and woodworking to young children.

She loved learning and teaching. Judi took more classes in early childhood education. She also studied painting and pottery at the Brooklyn Museum. She even taught painting to kids at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

How Her Books Began

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 after they separated in 1978. This book tells the story of a town where food falls from the sky. It's like rain, but it's food! This book became a classic that many people love.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on Screen

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was made into an animated movie in 2009. A sequel to the movie came out in 2013. These movies brought her imaginative story to even more people.

Judi Barrett Today

Judi Barrett continues to teach at The Berkeley Carroll School. This school is also in Brooklyn, New York. She also keeps writing new children's novels, sharing her creative stories with young readers.

Books by Judi Barrett

Here is a list of some of the books Judi Barrett has written:

• 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