Bartography

Don’t miss the KidTime StoryTime readaloud of Whoosh!

Chris Barton — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:26:28 +0000

I've seen quite a few readalouds of Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions over the years (and I've done even more myself), but none have been as elaborate or entertaining or deliriously goofy as this one from KidTime StoryTime. Enjoy!

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May 2026 giveaway: Win 1 of 4 signed copies of 88 Instruments

Chris Barton — Fri, 08 May 2026 23:25:26 +0000

This summer will mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of 88 Instruments, my playful fiction picture book illustrated by Louis Thomas and published in 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers. This summer will also mark the tenth straight year of 88 Instruments being a brand-new book to kids who haven't read it before [...]

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I’m the new president of the Texas Institute of Letters!

Chris Barton — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:41:38 +0000

The most common reaction I get from folks who learn that I've just become president of the Texas Institute of Letters is "Congratulations!" But I suspect that the most common reaction these folks don't share with me is, "What's the Texas Institute of Letters?" Perhaps followed by, "And what does the president of the Texas [...]

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April 2026 giveaway: Win 1 of 4 signed sets of Dazzle Ships and All of a Sudden and Forever

Chris Barton — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:04:33 +0000

One of the very first people I ran into at the recent Texas Library Association conference was the North Texas librarian who, four years ago, provided a new home to my seedling from the Oklahoma City Survivor Tree when it had grown into a sapling too big for me to continue caring for in the [...]

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“An inspiration”

Chris Barton — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:29:44 +0000

In a postscript to the situation I wrote about a few months ago: “Your fight for intellectual freedom and character of not abandoning your principles by bending to censorship is an inspiration to us…” “Thank you for standing by your beliefs that Intellectual freedom is important!” "Your books are inspiring tons of people and your [...]

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Feedback from my April 2025-March 2026 author-visit hosts, pt. 4: “What stood out about the feedback that you received after Chris’ visit?”

Chris Barton — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:25:29 +0000

Here I am during one of my 120 presentations this past year. Find out more about hosting me! I've done about 120 school presentations in the past year, for audiences ranging from pre-kindergartners to high schoolers. No matter the age group, at the end of a visit a school principal or other administrator [...]

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Feedback from my April 2025-March 2026 author-visit hosts, pt. 3: “What do you wish that Chris had done more (or less) of during his presentation(s)?”

Chris Barton — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:39:14 +0000

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Feedback from my April 2025-March 2026 author-visit hosts, pt. 2: “What was the most valuable or beneficial aspect of Chris’ presentation?”

Chris Barton — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 10:46:35 +0000

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Feedback from my April 2025-March 2026 author-visit hosts, pt. 1: “Were there any moments that stood out as particularly memorable?”

Chris Barton — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:35:47 +0000

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“Advocacy in the Off Season” at TLA, and connecting with Texas authors

Chris Barton — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 01:54:21 +0000

Greetings to those of you finding this post after (or during! or even before!) the "Advocacy in the Off Season" session at the 2026 Texas Library Association annual conference. A couple of years before I collaborated with librarians Lucy Podmore and Minda Anderson on this TLA session, I teamed up with Perma-Bound's Lex Anne Seifert [...]

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