“As someone who has enjoyed some success in my profession, as someone who has been nurtured in this work by a supportive community, and as someone who has benefited from a lot of privilege along the way, I strive to be an advocate for others—for other authors who may not have the odds stacked in their favor as I have had. And I strive to be an advocate for the endlessly diverse array of young people whose futures might be shaped more by the books that these other authors create than by my own. And I strive to be an advocate for these young people who themselves have stories to tell, and who have the potential to themselves shape the lives of those who come after them.” Chris Barton is an author of more than twenty award-winning books—both fiction and nonfiction—for young readers. He’s visited hundreds of schools across the country and internationally and spoken at conferences and festivals around the country. How did he get here? Chris grew up about 80 miles east of Dallas, in the small town of Sulphur Springs, Texas. It was there, at Lamar Elementary, that he wrote his very first first story: The Ozzie Bros. Meet The Monsters (you can see and read the whole thing!). It was inspired in equal parts by Star Wars (recurring dialogue: “Let’s get out of here!”), the Muppets, Abbott & Costello, and the movie-monster books he loved to check out from the school library. As a teenager, Chris loved writing with his friends, whether it was making up parodies of superheroes and soap operas or putting out an award-winning student newspaper. It was that love of being part of a writing community that led Chris to the University of Texas at Austin, where he immediately joined the staff of The Daily Texan (and eventually graduated with a degree in history). A few years later, he stumbled into another group of Austin writers and children’s writers. When Chris was 29, his toddler son began asking again and again to tell him the story of how Chris had installed a smoke detector. The story had drill sounds and alarm sounds and a captivating plot, and he couldn’t get enough. Chris thought: If I could make him happy with that story, I could come up with other stories, and maybe other kids would like them, too. That day Chris not only realized he wanted to create books for children but also discovered a community of other writers and artists pursuing the same thing. Soon after, Chris remembered a newspaper article about the brothers who invented daylight fluorescent colors—those oranges and yellows and pinks and greens so bright that they glowed in ordinary daylight. That would make a cool story for children, he thought. Eight years later, it became Chris’s first book—the Sibert Honor-winning nonfiction picture book The Day-Glo Brothers, illustrated by Tony Persiani. His second book, Shark vs. Train, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, became a bestseller. Chris was off to a good start. He loved his job. He works hard at it and has been very fortunate. Today, Chris has more books on the way and lots of ideas for other stories. When he’s not writing, reading, researching, or revising or talking about all of that with audiences of all ages, Chris loves to cook, listen to music and podcasts, gather with friends, and find out where his thoughts will take him on long walks and runs. Chris lives in Austin with his wife, author Jennifer Ziegler, their dog, Ernie, and they occasionally catch glimpses of their four young-adult children. Chris and Jennifer co-host “This One’s Dedicated to. . .”, a video series in which they talk with other authors and illustrators about the dedication pages in their books.