Though Helen Ketteman began writing in 1980, in reality she began writing much earlier in life. As a child, she wrote plays and stories for her younger sisters. She grew up in the South, where there’s a strong oral story-telling tradition, and, as a child, she not only read voraciously, she had the advantage of being around storytellers. Many of her books reflect this tradition.
Helen studied English in college and taught both at the high school and elementary levels. She has also taught picture book writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX., and done a week-long picture book writing workshop at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. She has spoken at SCBWI Conferences as well as other writer’s conferences and reading conferences throughout the country, and has also done television and radio talk shows about her books. She has presented at numerous state and national library and International Reading Conferences.
Helen Ketteman believes that a picture book is many things. It’s a child’s first introduction to art as well as the written word, but it transcends even those two powerful things. Children are musical and in picture books, she believes the listening experience is an important part of the equation, and that through our use of language, we can capture a child’s imagination and turn him on to being a lifetime reader and learner. AWARDS AND HONORS:
· North Dakota Flicker Tale Reader’s Choice Award
· Oregon Patricia Gallagher Reader’s Choice Award
· Nebraska Golden Sower Reader’s Choice Award,
· Cat Writer’s Assoc. Best Book of the year
· Three ALA “Pick of the Lists” honors
· Junior Library Guild selection
· NCAA – CBC Honor Book
· Selector’s Choice Honor Book
· NY Public Library’s Best Picture Books of the Year Honor
· Texas 2X2 Reading list honor.
· Numerous listings on State Reader’s Choice Awards lists throughout the United States
· Bubba the Cowboy Prince has been turned into a musical play for children’s theatre.
· Grandma’s Cat was featured on PBS’ Storytime.
Editorial Reviews "Yee haw! This Texas-style takeoff on 'The Little Red Hen' bubbles with southwestern flavor....Ketteman flavors the tale and message with plenty of pizzazz. Terry uses hot, intensely saturated, southwestern colors to spice the comedy, and embellishes each critter's characteristics with clever details, such as Tex's bolo tie. A sure-fire hit for the lap-sit crowd."-Booklist
"Terry's vibrant cartoon artwork adds personality to Billie and her large-eyed companions. Done in jewel tones, the scenes depict the warmth of the desert landscape as well as that of the creatures' friendship. The rhythmic text reads aloud well and the dialogue has a western flavor."-School Library Journal
Waynetta and the Cornstalk: A Texas Fairy Tale by Helen Ketteman (Author), Diane Greenseid (Illustrator) 
Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 30 pages Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (March 31, 2007) ISBN-10: 0807586870 ISBN-13: 978-0807586877
Times sure are tough on the ranch, and Waynetta and her ma can use all the luck they can get. But when Waynetta trades their last longhorn for a handful of so-called magic corn, Ma is none too pleased. "The only magic this corn's got is the disappearin' kind," she says, and tosses it out the window. But come the next morning, there's a giant cornstalk growing up to the sky, and Waynetta climbs it to find her own luck... Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal ....Watercolor images in varying shades of brown with dramatic splashes of purples, reds, greens, and blues depict Waynetta's rickety old house surrounded by broken fences and desert landscape. A gun-toting, ax-wielding mother and other exaggerative characters accompany the rich Texan parlance that peppers this amusing read-aloud.—Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist "Fee, fie, foe, fits, / I'll cook myself some cowgirl grits!" In this funny, feminist, fractured version of Jack and the Beanstalk, the hero is a girl, and her helper is a giant's wife. Waynetta and her ma work as "hard as eight-legged mules" on their scrubby Texas ranch. Still, they barely scrape by until Waynetta discovers a magic cornstalk. After climbing to the top, she finds an enormous ranch owned by a giant and his wife. The giant's wife helps Waynetta hide from the huge, mean rancher until he falls asleep. Then Waynetta lassoes a longhorn that makes cowpats of gold, brings the cow home to Ma, and climbs the cornstalk again in search of more treasure. ... Rochman, Hazel Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The Great Cake Bake by Helen Ketteman (Author), Matt Collins (Illustrator)Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (May 1, 2005) 
ISBN-10: 0802789501 ISBN-13:978-0802789501
When Mayor Fargenberg announced a cake-baking competition for the town's big Fourth of July celebration, Donna Rae Hadley started thinking. And as all of Danville knew, once Donna Rae got one of her big ideas, anything could happen.
Not just any cake would do for Donna Rae's entry. Of course it needed to taste wonderful. But her cake also needed all the drama of the Boston Tea Party. It needed to showcase patriotism, like the Statue of Liberty. It needed the pizzazz and excitement of Paul Revere's ride.
Even Mayor Fargenberg, who was secretly sweet on Donna Rae, could see a culinary disaster in the making. Bring your fork and your appetite to this spirited holiday bake-off, but don't forget your napkin. The cake will be flying.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal ... With detail and humor, the richly hued illustrations capture the look and feel of small-town America in a not-so-distant past. The art and the folksy telling are like a cross between a county fair and The Music Man. ...–Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist ...This lightly amusing tale takes place in a sort of generic mid-twentieth-century small town. Vivid colors and sharp, glossy edges give a hyperrealistic aura to the art. GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Mama's Way by Helen Ketteman (Author), Mary Whyte (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Dial (March 1, 2001)
ISBN-10: 0803724136
When Wynona sees a beautiful dress in a store window, she has to have it. But, although Wynona's mother works hard to support her three children, there's never any money left over for luxuries-not even for special occasions like her daughter's sixth-grade graduation. Will Wynona be forced to wear a friend's old hand-me-down dress, or will her mother find a way to grant her daughter's wish?
Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly ... Ketteman credibly charts Wynona's growth, as she rises above self-centeredness into a sympathetic character. The author ably outlines both the friction and the underlying love between mother and daughter, while Whyte's expressive watercolor portraits add both softness and substance to the contemporary setting. Ages 5-up. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal ... Gentle, realistic watercolor washes imbued with warm hues effectively convey the emotions of this loving family vignette. What might have been a saccharine story is instead a heartfelt depiction of single parenthood and a strong bond between a mother and daughter.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist Lovingly composed watercolor illustrations complement a straightforward text in this celebration of old-fashioned values and the love between a mother and daughter... Shelley Townsend Hudson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Heat Wave by Helen Ketteman (Author), Scott Goto (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Walker & Company (March 1998) 
ISBN-10: 0802786448 ISBN-13: 978-0802786449
Paperback ISBN-10: 0802775772 ISBN-13: 978-0802775771
What happens when a heat wave descends on the family farm? Why, the corn stalks turn into popcorn in the fields, flowers pluck themselves and hide under the porch, and the cows jump so much from the hot air that they churn their own milk into butter, that's what! In this delightful tall tale, illustrated by Scott Goto (Shooting Star, Shoeshine Whittaker), a young girl saves the day (and the farm) using her own ingenuity, every crow in Kansas, and a packet of lettuce seeds.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal ... Goto has created full-page panoramas balanced on the same fine line between reality and fantasy as the story. ...Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews ... Goto's eye-popping, thermometer-busting illustrations are perfectly matched to the story's exaggerated dimensions; weird angles and brash colors give the fields and farm a parched look ideal for the antics in the foreground.... -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Armadillo Tattletale by Helen Ketteman (Author), Keith Graves (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 1, 2000)
ISBN-10: 0590997238 ISBN-13: 978-0590997232
Armadillo's habit of eavesdropping and then misreporting what he hears makes the other animals so angry that they find a way to keep him from overhearing their private conversations.
Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly ...Ketteman and Graves provide a comical folktale, especially relevant to little pitchers. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal ... Bold, stylized illustrations in acrylic, ink, and colored pencil accompany the humorous, imaginative text, adding to the story's appeal-the exaggerated expressions on Armadillo's face are particularly amusing. The animals are all indigenous to Louisiana and Texas, so the book could be used to give a lighter touch to a Southern/Southwestern U.S. unit, or, then again, it could be read aloud for just plain fun, which it definitely is. Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Not Yet, Yvette by Helen Ketteman (Author), Irene Trivas (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 9-12 School & Library Binding Publisher: Tandem Library (October 1999)
ISBN-10: 0785767061 ISBN-13:978-0785767060
Paperback ISBN-10: 0807557722 ISBN-13: 978-0807557723
A girl waits impatiently as she and her father prepare a surprise birthday party for her mother.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly "It would be difficult to find more likable party-givers than this high-spirited heroine and her calmer but equally enthusiastic dad," said PW. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews ... The simple story is deftly conveyed in natural- sounding dialogue. Trivas's colorful illustrations are lively and freely rendered .... with many cozy details, including the amusing antics of the family cats, they nicely reflect this black family's warm pleasure in each other's company. Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Bubba, The Cowboy Prince by Helen Ketteman (Author), James Warhola (Illustrator) Reading level: Baby-Preschool Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press; (November 1, 1997)
ISBN-10: 0590255061 ISBN-13: 978-0590255066 Loosely based on "Cinderella," this story is set in Texas, the fairy godmother is a cow, and the hero, named Bubba, is the stepson of a wicked rancher.
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. ... Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The Christmas Blizzard by Helen Ketteman (Author), James Warhola (Illustrator)Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages Publisher: Scholastic (November 1996) 
Paperback ISBN-10: 0590136097 ISBN-13: 978-0590136099
- Hardback ISBN-10: 0590458787 ISBN-13: 978-0590458788
Old Maynard Jenkins tells about the terrible blizzard that occurred one Christmas when he was a boy, when the weather was so cold in Lizzard, Indiana, that Santa Claus moved his workshop there and it snowed for two weeks straight.
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist .... Ketteman's fanciful tall tale is sure to attract young listeners, and Warhola's comical ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture the text's exaggerated humor. Particularly delightful are Santa's sunbathing elves and the bonfires lit to defrost the clouds. An appealing choice for holiday read-alouds or for older children learning to write their own tall tales. Kay Weisman
Grandma's Cat by Helen Ketteman (Author), Marsha Lynn Winborn (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; Library Binding edition (March 13, 1996) 
ISBN-10: 0395730945 ISBN-13: 978-0395730942
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly A girl's attempts to befriend her grandmother's "round and fat" cat are at the sweet center of this brief but witty look at feline behavior. "He hides./ I seek" begins the adventure as the girl's overzealous overtures provoke some serious cat attitude and even a scratch on the nose. When Grandma offers sage but simple advice, "just be very gentle," things soon turn downright snuggly: "I sit./ I clap./ He tries my lap." Ketteman delivers a full roller coaster of emotion with an economy of words. Her rhythmic, rhyming (mostly) couplets speak to every child who has tried desperately to express fondness for a pet. Winborn's (Digby & Kate) sprightly ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict an equally compelling visual story line, expanding on the spare text by showing the often hilarious actions of both cat and kid. The artwork also adds another important dimension: Grandma, gardening in her green overalls, takes care that her plucky young charge is never in too much danger. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal ... Grandma's Cat is delightfully told in brief, rhymed sentences that make a charming group or individual read-aloud, yet are simple enough for beginning readers to try on their own. The pastel garden setting is whimsically rendered in watercolor, with very likable, expressive characters that perfectly complement this satisfying story. Christina Linz, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist ...The story will appeal to the many children whose ideas for befriending animals work better in their dreams than in reality. Ink-and-pencil drawings, brightened with watercolor washes in gentle hues, expressively depict the emotions of child, cat, and grandmother in this sometimes humorous book. The story reads aloud well, making this a good choice for storytime. Carolyn Phelan
Luck With Potatoes by Helen Ketteman (Author), Brian Floca (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover Publisher: Orchard Books (NY) (September 1995)
ISBN-10: 0531094731 ISBN-13: 978-0531094730Hardscrabble Tennessee farmer Clemmon Hardigree's hard-luck changes when he plants seed potatoes in Cow Hollow before his fat mountain cows cause the pasture to collapse.
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist ... Ketteman has a firm grasp on the humor and stylistic elements of the tall tale. Her narrative voice is bemused yet down-to-earth, retaining its laconic style even as the situation becomes more and more outlandish. Reminiscent of James Stevenson's illustrations, Floca's watercolors effectively complement the increasingly outrageous plot and add punch to a very funny tale. Even Floca's cows have personality and presence. Janice Del Negro
The Year of No More Corn by Helen Ketteman (Author), Robert Andrew Parker (Illustrator) Reading level: Baby-Preschool Hardcover: Publisher: Orchard Books (NY) (September 1993) 
ISBN-10: 0531059502 ISBN-13: 978-0531059500
Beanie's grandfather tells him about the failure of the corn crop in 1928 and how he was able to make corn trees grow from whittled corn kernels.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly .. Ketteman spins her tall tale in a pleasingly folksy deadpan style, her vivid descriptions bringing the old man's outrageous account to life until the reader, like young Beanie, would like nothing better than to believe every word: "The ground got hotter and hotter, until suddenly those kernels started popping. They popped until the cornfields looked like they were covered with winter snow. Every man, woman and child in Indiana had to eat nothing but popcorn for weeks." Parker's ( Pop Corn and Ma Goodness ) bright, animated watercolors are rimmed with wriggling ink lines in a manner somewhat reminiscent of William Steig. With a manic energy appropriate to the text, his paintings winningly portray windblown houses sailing through the air and hordes of marauding inky-black crows. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews .. Ketteman's wry, folksy telling of her original tale is colorful and well paced. Parker's elegantly scribbled pen drawings are drenched in the sunny colors of the Midwest; the tender scenes of the boy and the old man together are especially lovely. A lively, likable tall tale. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
I Remember Papa by Helen Ketteman (Author), Greg Shed (Illustrator) Reading level: Baby-Preschool, 32 pages Publisher: Puffin (May 21, 2001) 
Paperback ISBN-10: 0140566074 ISBN-13: 978-0140566079
- Hardback ISBN-10: 0613359615 ISBN-13: 978-0613359610
Every weekend, when the sun rises, Audie wakes up to help his father with the farm work. And every weekend Audie gets paid a quarter. Someday, he'll use the money to see a baseball game or buy a glove. Then one Saturday, Audie and his father go on a train trip to the city. Audie can't believe it. He is filled with anticipation. Will all of his baseball dreams come true?
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal The story is told in the past tense from the boy's point of view, and is warm without being treacly. The realistic, gouache illustrations are filled with natural light and the slow motion of a fond memory, with a nostalgic tone similar to some of the scenes in the baseball movie The Natural. AChristine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews From Ketteman, a sentimental reminiscence about a Saturday train trip to the ball game and a life lesson gained from a childhood loss.... The grainy gouache paintings have the varnished look of an aging, yellowed photograph, appropriately nostalgic. While the plot is constructed around a baseball mitt, the theme at the center of the story is the hallowed relationship between father and son in a bygone era, fondly remembered. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Aunt Hilarity's Bustle by Helen Ketteman Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Date: August 1992 Age Range: 5 to 8 
ISBN-10: 0671778617 ISBN-13: 978-0671778613
Editorial Reviews
From
Library Journal Too poor to buy the latest in fashion, Aunt Hilarity embarks on some disastrous attempts to make her own. After studying magazines, she first constructs a bustle from an old grain sack stuffed with hay, but the sack is infested with fleas. Lively illustrations show an acrobatic woman as she tries to relieve her itching. Undaunted, she washes the sack and stuffs it with old paint rags, and when she stands too close to a candle, it bursts into flames. Amos Ledbetter throws punch on the flames only to drench Mrs. Anna Belle Prather in the process. Thus begins the biggest food fight Willow Flats has ever had. Ever-determined, Aunt Hilarity constructs a bustle from chicken-wire. Finishing it in time for the Christmas Ball, she dons her latest creation with pride. However, while dancing, it begins to unravel, beginning a chain of events that ends with the woman wearing the Christmas tree. Aunt Hilarity's family and the townsfolk are comically illustrated in pen, ink and watercolor. Children will giggle with delight at the slapstick spectacles this slave of fashion creates. A funny story about a heroine with plenty of spark.-- Michelle M. Strazer, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL From Booklist ... Ketteman's story hilariously satirizes the excesses of fashion while Warhola's illustrations have an exuberant, slapstick quality that brings Hilarity's wackiness to life. This book is bound to be a winner with the preschool set and with early readers as a read-aloud or read-alone laugh riot.
HELEN KETTEMAN Author
