Chris Barton's Blog: Bartography, page 23

An animated look at what’s inside a Super Soaker

Here’s a fascinating, captivating, three-minute stop-motion video composed of more than 4,000 individual photos of a vintage Super Soaker 100. It’s a must-see for anyone who loved Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions (written by me, illustrated by Don Tate, and published by Charlesbridge): The creator of the video says: This thing is almost […]

“I’m shocked by how readers in all states ask, ‘Did you train surf like Bryan?’ Readers reread those scenes, a lot.” (2-question Q&A and giveaway for June 2019)

Welcome to the Q&A and giveaway for the June edition of my Bartography Express newsletter (which you can sign up for here). My Q&A this month is with teacher and author Torrey Maldonado, whom you can learn more about at his website and follow on Twitter at @TorreyMaldonado. Torrey’s tense, brisk middle grade novel Tight […]

“This is Chree-yus!”

In 1976, when I was four years old, members of my family recorded audio greetings for my great-grandmother on the occasion of her 87th birthday. My Northeast Texas accent (and that of my older brother) was a lot stronger back then. Listen for yourself!

Come “dig deep” with me!

This week, I’m a guest on author Melissa Stewart’s blog with a contribution to her “Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep” series. The title of this series is no joke: Melissa urged me to dig deeper than I’d been inclined to on the first draft of my post, and I’m glad she did. It’s probably no surprise […]

What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? among Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year

From the Bank Street College of Education’s Children’s Book Committee: The Children’s Book Committee strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents, and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The list includes more then 600 titles chosen by reviewers for literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the […]

Now available: WHOOSH! (in paperback) and ¡FUSHHH! (en español)

Three new versions of Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Steam of Inventions are available today: a high-quality paperback edition of the original, and Spanish translation ¡Fushhh! El chorro del inventos súper húmedos de Lonnie Johnson in both hardcover and paperback.

“It was meant to be funny. This little zombie kid embracing a big ol’ root vegetable like it was his teddy bear. But then it hit me: That was Mo.” (2-question Q&A and giveaway for May 2019)

Welcome to the Q&A and giveaway for the May edition of my Bartography Express newsletter (which you can sign up for here). My Q&A this month is with married collaborators Megan and Jorge Lacera, the creators of the picture book Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies!, published last month by Lee & Low Books. In a starred […]

My seedling from the Oklahoma City Survivor Tree

Three years ago, a book tour took me to Oklahoma City, and before I left town, I made my first visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. The experience — especially the storytelling achieved by both the Memorial and the Museum — made a big impression on me. Among the many facets of […]

Now available: A full-Throttle Mighty Truck adventure!

Surf’s Up!, the fourth book in the Mighty Truck early reader series (written by me, illustrated by Troy Cummings, and published by HarperCollins) is officially published today. This is especially good news for those of you who enjoyed the excitement surrounding surf wagon Mr. Dent and his beleaguered cat, Throttle — — in the original […]

My remarks at the Barbara Jordan Media Awards

As I mentioned last month, my book What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan (illustrated by Ekua Holmes and published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster) won the 2018 Barbara Jordan Award for children’s books. Three weeks ago, Jennifer and I had the honor of attending […]