Books

“It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Most of my books can be ordered Here:

SNAIL MAIL

SNAIL MAIL written by the talented Samantha Berger and illustrated by myself is available to pre-order now, publication May 2018 by Running Press USA

Nothing Says Love Like an Old-Fashioned LetterA long, long time ago, before email and texting, the mail was delivered in a much slower way-it was called Snail Mail (because some thought it was delivered by a snail). Although it took much longer, everyone agreed that letters were a little more special when they were delivered by Snail Mail. They might be handwritten. They might include a drawing. They might even contain a surprise inside! One such letter was sent by a Girl to the Boy she loved, and it was up to four special snails to deliver her card across the country. The snails trek across the country-through desert heat and dangerous blizzards, across mountains and plains, through cities and forests-and along the way, they find that taking time to slow down and look around makes the journey all the more beautiful.
Snail Mail's playful and educational story encourages kids to have slow living, and to approach life with determination and wonder. Julia Patton's rich illustrations showcase America's diverse terrain and national monuments from coast to coast. Kids and parents alike will delight in this celebration of America's beauty and the power of a simple handwritten letter.

THE VERY VERY VERY LONG DOG

"We love our friends not in spite of their flaws, but because of them."

Bartelby is a very long sausage dog who lives in a beautiful old bookstore. Every day his wonderful friends accompany him for a walk around town. Bartleby loves his walks, but you see, Bartelby is SO long that he doesn't always know where his rear end is! One day, Bartelby's reckless rear makes so much mayhem that not even his wonderful friends can smooth over the disaster, Oh, Bartleby!

The Very Very Very Long Dog is available for Pre-Order here publication date Dec 1st 2017

Now animated! by Dreamscape

REVIEWS:

"A sublimely silly book that children and dog lovers will enjoy reading again and again." - School Library Journal, Popular Pick
"Patton (Drat That Fat Cat!) adeptly highlights the story's physical comedy, and Bartleby's scruffy fur and expressive, bugged-out eyes make him a sympathetic pup." - Publishers Weekly
"Soft-focus, colored-pencil illustrations have a whimsical appeal, with amusing expressions for Bartelby and a multiethnic cast of characters." - Kirkus
"Author and illustrator Julia Patton's The Very Very Very Long Dog is sure to delight all young readers with its heartwarming story of friendship and unique illustrations. This is an adorable story about an adorable dog and his wonderful friends
" - Shelf Awareness Pro
From the Publisher11/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Bartelby is an adorable sausage dog who lives in a bookstore. He loves his home, reading good books, and being taken for walks around town with his many friends. There's just has one not-so-little problem—he's too long. His front end is fine but his misguided backside has issues. Chaos and mayhem seem to follow wherever he and his faraway bottom go. His unsupervised tail end goes through wet cement and causes cars to crash. Bartelby is devastated when he realizes the source of the trouble is his own back end. His friends decide to work together to solve the problem. They come up with a clever solution to help their four legged companion when going for a walk. This is a charming book that is packed with humor. Bartelby's head and tail are rarely on the same page to show the extreme length of his body. The author refers to Bartelby's back end in humorous ways. For example, "blundering backside" and "reckless rear" are terms the will amuse and delight children. The use of color in the illustrations is minimal. Readers' eyes are drawn to the main subjects that have a greater amount of color. It's difficult not to fall in love with Bartelby and his supportive friends. The story quietly stresses the importance of friendship and perseverance. VERDICT This is a sublimely silly book that children and dog lovers will enjoy reading again and again.—Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA
School Library Journal

STINKER

David Zeltser’s new picture book Stinker tells the story of a puppy stuck in the pound. Stinker is playful and loving and wants more than anything to be adopted. Unfortunately, little Stinker is always making big smells. Through a crafty cat’s narration and charming illustrations from Julia Patton, readers will cheer as Stinker and the cat stage a great escape in order to find just the right home for Stinker. "How did such a sweet-looking doggie end up at the pound? If Stinker learns how to stop farting, he might be able to leave the pound for a forever home! Unless the wily cat narrating this story has a better plan . . ."
STINKER written by David Zeltser here for Fall 2017 publication by lerner.

DRAT THAT FAT CAT

Cornelius prefers life on the quiet side. He's orderly and neat and doesn't have time for any ruckus. But his meticulous life soon spins into utter chaos when a suspicious package appears on his doorstop and out pops a wild and crazy fat cat! This fat cat is stinky, mischievous, messy, and loud! With every new and not-so-fun adventure, Cornelius's patience begins to fray. Will that fat cat have enough convincing power to win over the heart of Cornelius, or will he need to look elsewhere for a forever home?
Published by Albert Whitman & Co. USA October 1st.2016.
Pre-Order your copy here.

DRAT THAT FAT CAT gets a great review from Kirkus, thank you.

Mind Boggling Numbers

AWARD WINNNG Mind Boggling Numbers is written by Michael J. Rosen is published by Lerner Press USA. August 2016: How many glasses of lemonade would fit in an Olympic-sized swimming pool? Find the answers to all sorts of mind-boggling math questions in this fun, engaging book.

What do a blue whale, a grizzly bear, and an elephant-size piggy bank have to do with math? Find out in this hilarious romp through weight, volume, distance, and more. These zany scenarios add up to be full of fun!
Pre-order here.

Unstoppable Max

Published by Oxford University Press available to pre-order here.

"It's time for Max to get ready for bed - but his imagination just gets in the way! Join this irrepressible new character in a high-energy picture book. Max is more than a character - he's an avatar on the page for non-stop children everywhere!" Oxford University Press

A perfect book for all the 'unstoppable' little ones out there - The Bookseller

Professor McQuark and the Oojamflip

Lovely review from Bookloverjo
‘Professor McQuark and the Oojamaflip’ by Lou Treleaven with illustrations by Julia Patton is a brilliantly, entertaining gem of a read. Wacky, wild and wonderful the rhymes just trip off your tongue as you whizz through the pages at the speed of light. Meet Professor McQuark the genius inventor of wind-up goldfish, polite dice, squeezy rainbows and self-blessing tissues. One day whilst inventing, a fabulous gadget pops into her head which she promptly names the ‘oojamflip.’. I love the lyrical language describing her creative process:
‘She ran to her shed and she
banged and she battered,
she sawed and she sanded,
she clanged and she clattered.’
The books just buzzes with energy and brims over with ideas providing lots of inspirations for young minds to cultivate their imaginations to conjure up some amazing inventions. Julia Patton’s illustrations perfectly capture the craziness and creativeness of Professor McQuark’s mind and gives us a fascinating insight into the realms of possibilities are minds can take us if we think outside of the norm. Vibrant and stunning they create a world of frenetic fun which is impossible to resist. Lovely to see a female inventor in a story this book will have a real pride of place in my school library.

Published by Maveric Books. Written by Lou Treleaven. Pre-order here:

"Maverick has earned a reputation for producing exciting children’s picture books with quirky and inventive themes and has a fast-growing range of brilliant titles. So join a madcap inventor as her outsize machine turns into a high-flying success, sneak into a birthday party with three hungry crocodiles and enjoy watching two hedgehogs hop into summer. Julia Patton’s creative and quirky illustrations add extra vitality and colour to Treleaven’s lively, rhyming story which comes packed with ideas, inventions and offbeat concepts, all guaranteed to fire up young imaginations.Frantic fun to inspire your own little inventors!" Lancashire Evening Post

Professor McQuark and the Oojamaflip is the wonderfully-named debut book by Lou Treleaven, who is a new author at Maverick. It's illustrated by Julia Patton, who also illustrated The Curious Tale of Fi-Rex, the Children In Need book that was written by a host of celebrities. The Madhouse kids had never heard me say oojamaflip before but I think it might have turned into their new favourite word - in fact, I wonder how they ever survived before having it in their vocabulary, especially as they dissolve into giggles every time they say it (which is often) !

The book is written in rhyme, which is always great news for a story that will be read out loud at bedtime, and the hugely detailed illustrations had us smiling and pointing out all sorts of things as we read along. I thought it had a bit of a Cat In The Hat vibe going on, both in terms of the slick rhymes and the entertaining drawings. It's fun, it's quirky and it promotes science to girls. It also led on to lots of fun discussions and crafting sessions afterwards, deciding what crazy inventions we could think of and design - what more could you ask for in a picture book? Madhouse family reviews

The Curious Tale Of Fi-Rex

For the first time ever some of the most famous names in music, sport and show business have got together for a game of consequences to raise money for the BBC Children in Need Appeal. Each participating celebrity has written a section armed only with the information of the main character a half-girl, half-dinosaur called Fi-Rex and with only the final line of the previous part. This unique idea has resulted in a hilarious tale which twists and turns like no other from which we will raise thousands of pounds for BBC Children in Need.

BBC Children In Need The Curious Tale Of Fi-Rex published October 2015 by Fat Fox Books. Order here Amazon

Andy Murray's page featuring Keith Lemon.

From Apple Trees To Cider Please

Grab the wagon, it's a bright autumn day and the trees are full of ripe, red apples! There's an apple festival underway at the farm and lots of work to do making cider. This visit finishes with a cider doughnut and a cup of freshly pressed cider. DELICIOUS! Told in crisp, action-driven rhymes from a young child's point of view, From Apple Trees to Cider, Please! is a realistic account of how apple cider is pressed, flavored with the charm and vigor of a harvest celebration.

Published by Albert Whitman & Co written by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky. Purchase here

PB & J Hooray!

From peanut, grape, and wheat seeds to sandwich, PB & J Hooray! is all about how peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are made. The story begins with the kitchen and works backward to the shopping, delivery, production, harvesting, farming, and planting processes! In fun, rhythmic language, readers discover how peanuts become peanut butter, grapes are made into jelly, and wheat turns into bread

Published by Albert Whitman & Co written by Janet Nolan. Purchase here:

Build A Book

It's BUILD A BOOK FOR GIRLS, an exciting activity journal designed to develop a love of writing and encourage creativity! In BUILD A BOOK FOR GIRLS, kids are presented with a new and exciting activity journal. This book is designed to develop a love of writing while encouraging creativity. While completing the activities, girls will be honing the skills they need to build their own book--without even realizing it! With an ever increasing emphasis on creative writing, this book gives girls a head-start into exploring their imaginations in a structured, positive way.
It's BUILD A BOOK FOR BOYS, an exciting activity journal designed to develop a love of writing and encourage creativity! In BUILD A BOOK FOR BOYS, kids are presented with a new and exciting activity journal. This book is designed to develop a love of writing while encouraging creativity. While completing the activities, boys will be honing the skills they need to build their own book--without even realizing it! With an ever increasing emphasis on creative writing, this book gives boys a head-start into exploring their imaginations in a structured, positive way.

Published by Autumn Children's Publishing. Purchase here :