1) What is the working title of your next book?
The Year of the Baby, by Andrea Cheng

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’m the illustrator, so we’ll save this question for the author, Andrea Cheng. This is a sequel to The Year of the Book, the first book in the series.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
A chapter book for ages 6-9, grades 1-4

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Laura, lighthearted and warm, could be played by Dakota Fanning (age in Charlotte’s Web).
Anna, sweet and thoughtful, could be played by Valerie Tian (played #5 in The Broken Trail).
Camille, open and kind, could be played by Katie Leung (played Cho Chang, first love interest for Harry Potter).
Baby Kaylee could be played by Meryl Streep (because she can play anyone… hee hee!)

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Fifth-grader Anna is concerned that her baby sister Kaylee, adopted from China three months ago, is not thriving so she and her best friends, Laura and Camille, create a science project that may save the day.

6) Who is publishing your book?
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
As far as how long it took for the first draft of the manuscript, that’s another question for Andrea Cheng. However, I can speak about the illustrations. I spent about a month on the sketches, a few weeks for the revisions, then a few more weeks for the final art.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Any gentle chapter book about familiar slice-of-life issues facing middle graders.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Another question for the author, Andrea Cheng… however, the inspiration for my sketches came from Andrea’s wonderful manuscript… I fell in love with her characters, they were a delight to draw.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Oh, one very cool thing is they include a pronunciation guide for Chinese words used in the book. Along with the pronunciation, they show the Chinese character for each word or phrase. Also, at the end of the book, there is a recipe for Steamed red bean bao zi, one of Anna’s grandmother’s special dishes. Yum!

Oh! I almost forgot! The Year of the Baby is a Junior Library Guild Selection for Spring 2013. Nice!

Thank you so much for stopping by! 

The Next Big Thing Blog Tour continues on April 4th with the following book artists – you won’t want to miss them!

My friend and fellow Girllustrator, Emma Virjan, who is as delightful as her artwork!

And another friend and all around splendid guy, illustrator extraordinaire C.S. Jennings!

I can’t wait to find out more about their books!! See you there as The Next Big Thing Blog Tour continues!

Spring is almost here. And so is The Year of the Baby, a sweet chapter book by Andrea Cheng, published by Houghton Mifflin that I had the pleasure of illustrating. Available May 28, 2013.

I’m delighted to share that MINE! has won a 2012 Crystal Kite Award! Sponsored by the SCBWI, the Crystal Kite is a member’s choice award. MINE! won the most votes from my SCBWI peers in the Texas/Oklahoma Region. Thank you, peeps!!! I am humbled and honored!

Thank You, Shutta Crum, for writing this rowdy toddler tale and Thank You, all my friends at Knopf, for the opportunity to illustrate it!

Congratulations to all the other Crystal Kite winners! Cheers!

For more about MINE! please visit my MINE! book page.

We just moved in… and on Valentine’s Day no less! How sweet is that?! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Illustration from Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine, by Allison Wortche, Knopf 2011.
For more about Rosie please visit my Rosie Sprout book page.

★ “An accomplished debut….Wortche possesses both a refreshing directness and a willingness to trust her readers… This impressive new author is well served by Barton (Mine!), whose digital classroom sketches convey a tumult of emotion and have just the right amounts of energy and vulnerability.”
Publishers Weekly, October 24, 2011

Thank you, PW!

Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine by Allison Wortche, pictures by Patrice Barton, Alfred A. Knopf, on sale Dec. 13, 2011

MINE! was accepted into the Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit 2011! Many Thanks to the jury! I’m delighted and honored and… okay, I cried a little bit when I heard the news. :) I traveled to NY with my best friend and fellow illustrator Laura Logan for the opening… just WOW! And bonus! We met and had lunch with all the folks from Random House/Knopf that I have been working with – what a wonderful, fun group!! So many memories to treasure forever!

Karen Henry Clark, author of Sweet Moon Baby has two author events this month. Wish I could go!

November 4, Friday at 10:30 AM
Barnes & Noble
HarMar Mall
2100 N. Snelling Ave.
Roseville, MN 55113

November 12, Saturday at !:00 PM
The Bookcase
607 E. Lake St.
Wayzata, MN 55391

Come and meet the lovely author, Karen Henry Clark at a Sweet Moon Baby book signing! She’ll read Sweet Moon Baby and talk about her experience of writing it. Also, there will be activities for children.

This Saturday, July 16th, 10:00 am.
The Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore
3054 Madison RoadCincinnati
OH 45209

For a little warm up before you meet Karen on Saturday:
click here for an inspiring interview with Karen on the blog Two Writing Teachers
and here for a terrific review of Sweet Moon Baby by Terry Hong of Bookdragon, of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

~ coming this June. Story by the wonderful Shutta Crum, published by Knopf. This was such a fun story to illustrate – toddlers, toys, troubles, triumphs and one puppy. Oh, and there are only two and one half words. And yes, one of the words is MINE!

May the spirit of the season fill you with peace, love and joy.

I was nervous about the guest post… just a skosh. :)

It’s an absolutely lovely adoption tale written by Karen Henry Clark. Illustrating it was a gift indeed!

The release date is November 9, 2010. Easy for me to remember – it’s my son’s birthday! :)

And **more fun** they invited me to participate in a sketch interview. I know! I was so excited! You can see it here. Thanks Sketchables, I had a blast!

This sweetie is Shane, reading her copy of The Looking Book with her new pair of “lookers”, both gifts from her great grandmother. How cute is that?

The book is doing well! It’s a Children’s Book of the Month Club Selection and a Sierra Club recommended nature book for kids, 2009.