Describe your latest project.
Iggy Peck, Architect is a tale of passion. Passion for building!

Iggy has always loved architecture. When he was two, he built a great tower with diapers and glue. Never mind that the diapers weren't clean! Life is great for Iggy until second grade when he meets his match in Miss Lila Greer, the second grade teacher who despises architecture. Trouble ensues, but in the end, Iggy uses his remarkable talents to save the day. Hurray!

David Roberts' illustrations are fun and funky and stylish. Simply put, they rock!

What fictional character would you like to be your friend, and why?
The Nac Mac Feegle from Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men ! (I know they are really more than one character, but they are VERY, VERY small.) The Nac MacFeegle would make great friends, because they are very fast, great at defeating Ice Queens and hivers (when they aren't off robbin', fightin', cursin', or fightin') and they are wicked, wicked funny. Crivens!

If you could choose any story to live in, which story would it be? Why?
The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. I would love to spend my mornings visiting Piglet until it was time for a snack or two. Then it would be time to play with Tigger and Roo or perhaps Rabbit and then we'd have a snack or two. Then it would be lunchtime followed by a game of Pooh Sticks until afternoon tea and a snack or two. It would be lovely.

I feel a little eleven o'clockish just thinking about it.

What was your favorite story as a child?
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. I loved that poem and spent many years looking for a runcible spoon of my own. What a happy day when I found one at Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it was plastic and they called it a spork. Somehow, that just doesn't have the same ring: "They dined on mince and pieces of quince which they ate with a spork."

Rhymes with dork.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Just about everything! But most of all, I wanted to be was a detective! I had a detective club in fourth grade and we tried to solve mysteries every day after school. We began each meeting by reading each other our rights, then we set out to solve a crime. Mysteriously, I don't think we ever found any.

Tell us about your pets.
Imagine a picture of fish floating upside down with little X's on their eyes. That pretty much sums up the pets I've had as an adult.

As a kid, though, I had lots of pets without X's on their eyes. I had collies, cats, parakeets, box turtles, and even a box of earthworms which I kept until I put my toothbrush in the box and Mom made me get rid of the box. AND the toothbrush. Can you believe?

Who are your favorite characters in history?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the guy who invented Velcro. I owe a lot to that guy.

If you could pick anyone to illustrate one of your books, who would it be and why?
The list of illustrators I would love to work with is longer than my arm. I could never pick just one — my arms are very long.

Luckily, I don't have to choose one! I have an amazing editor with great sent of style and vision for my books. She chose Kevin Hawkes to illustrate my first book, When Giants Come To Play. Kevin captured the very heart of that book! He is amazing. In Iggy Peck, Architect, she chose David Roberts who creates a fun, funky, playful, and joyous world. It's perfect. For future books, I'll just sit back and wait to see what magic my editor dreams up next!

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Andrea Beaty's first book was When Giants Come to Play. She is the recipient of the prestigious Barbara Karlin Honor Grant for picture-book writing from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives in Naperville, Illinois.