Leslie Patricelli has been cartooning to entertain herself and others since childhood. Using cartooning as a form of catharsis, Leslie discovered her mischievous Baby character while doodling on her notes during a distressing Infant First-Aid course, shortly after her first child was born. The resulting Baby is now the star of twenty-eight beloved board books, including Yummy Yucky, Potty, Toot, and, most recently, Mommy and Daddy (Candlewick Press).
read moreWatching her three children as they grew continued to inspire and ignite ideas, such as the Boston Globe Honor Book, Higher! Higher!, her Patterson Puppies Series, and Be Quiet, Mike! She is also the illustrator of the Mini-Myth board book series (Abrams) by Joan Holub. Leslie grew up in Issaquah, WA, on Pine Lake, which is the setting of her debut middle-grade novel, The Rizzlerunk Club: Best Buds Under Frogs (Candlewick Press). She now lives in a pleasantly cacophonous home in the mountain town of Hailey, ID with her drummer husband, three musical children, a dog and three cats. Leslie loves to hike, mountain bike and ski, and plays her clarinet in the local orchestra.