Describe your latest project.
My new book, Not a Stick, is about what a child (in this case a pig) imagines when playing with a stick. It's a sequel to Not a Box (in case you hadn't figured that out).

How did the last good book you read end up in your hands?
My daughter gave me The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman for Christmas. It's a beautiful book — a journal in words and paintings. I love her work — it's inspiring. We collect some of the same weird stuff, like claim check numbers and ephemera (like paper bags) from abroad.

Do you read the Sunday funnies, and which are your favorites?
I enjoy reading the Sunday funnies when I have time. (My highest priority is the crossword puzzle!) I like Mutts. Patrick McDonnell is a wonderful artist — there's kind of a Japanese sumi-e brush work influence visible which I really like. And I read Bliss because I'm a big fan of Diary of a Worm. I like Baby Blues too, even though my baby is all grown up.

What is your favorite breakfast cereal?
Cap'n Crunch, even though it lacerates the roof of your mouth. I like it for dessert — then your mouth has time to heal overnight.

What do you do for relaxation?
I read, go on hikes in the mountains with my husband, and do crossword puzzles.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a kid I wanted to write and illustrate books. After my class went to the Natural History Museum, I also wanted to be an archaeologist and dig up Egyptian mummies and Canopic jars with livers and hearts in them. Here's whats weird — my little sister (who went to the same museum) did become an archaeologist and she was on a dig in Peru and found an ancient body buried in a jar.

Why do you write books for kids?
I write books for kids because when I was a kid, they were central to my life. Reading was my most favorite thing in the world. I always wanted to be part of that alchemy. To make something that would be part of children's memories the way so many books are a part of mine.

Tell us about your pets.
My daughter had a pet rat when she was little. The nakedness of a rat's tail creeped me out at first — looked too much like a snake... But rats are intelligent and affectionate and I grew to love Sophie. We bonded because one day she escaped from her cage and we couldn't find her anywhere. That night I woke up because she was running through my hair. I was touched that she sought out human contact. I put her back in her cage, and her tail didn't gross me out anymore after that.

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Antoinette Portis attended the UCLA School of Fine Arts and is a former creative director at Disney Consumer Products. She lives in Studio City, CA.