Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett (born August 23, 1982) is an American children's book writer best known for his advocacy of picture books. He has published over seventy works since 2009, consisting of over fifty picture books, graphic novels, essays, and short stories. He currently serves as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (2025-26).

Early life and education Barnett grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and graduated from Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. He attended Pomona College, where he studied under the writer David Foster Wallace.

Career

Collaboration with Jon Klassen Extra Yarn, a picture book illustrated by Jon Klassen, won the 2012 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and 2013 E. B. White Read Aloud Award. It was a Caldecott Medal Honor Book. Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, won a Caldecott Honor and the 2015 E.B. White Read Aloud Award.

He is the co-creator, with Jon Klassen, of the Emmy-award winning children's animated series Shape Island on Apple TV+, based on their Shapes trilogy of picture books.

Advocacy for picture books In 2011, Barnett wrote the Picture Book Proclamation, an art manifesto about picture books signed by 21 other children's writers.

In 2024, Barnett wrote La Porta Segreta, a book for adults about children's books, published in Italian by Terre di Mezzo, later published in English under the title Make Believe.

In February 2025, Barnett was inaugurated at the Library of Congress as the 2025-26 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

"Sturgeon's Law" controversy In May 2026, Barnett released a book of essays for adults, Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children. In a chapter on literary quality, he modified Sturgeon's Law, the notion that "Ninety percent of everything is crap", writing, "I have a nagging fear that children’s literature suffers from a slightly higher crud percentage than literature as a whole. So I now offer Barnett’s Addendum to Sturgeon’s Law: Maybe more like 94.7 percent of kids’ books are crud."

This remark caused controversy among other figures in children's literature who felt that it was insensitive and inappropriate. Barnett released an apology statement via the Library of Congress, and expressed regret at how he had expressed the sentiment in interview with author Jeff Kinney.

Works

Essays Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children - Cover by Carson Ellis

Novels The Brixton Brothers - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Adam Rex and Matthew Myers (Simon & Schuster) The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (Oct. 6, 2009). The Ghostwriter Secret (Oct. 5, 2010). It Happened on a Train (Oct. 4, 2011). Danger Goes Berserk, illus. Matthew Myers (Oct. 2, 2013).

The Terrible Two - By Mac Barnett and Jory John, with illustrations by Kevin Cornell (Amulet Books) The Terrible Two (Jan. 13, 2015). The Terrible Two Get Worse (Jan. 12, 2016). The Terrible Two Go Wild (Jan. 9, 2018). The Terrible Two's Last Laugh (Dec. 24, 2018). Mac B., Kid Spy - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Mike Lowery Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Undercover (Sep. 11, 2018). Mac B., Kid Spy: The Impossible Crime (Dec. 26, 2018). Mac B., Kid Spy: Top-Secret Smackdown (Sep. 17, 2019). Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Cracks the Code (Dec. 26, 2019). Mac B., Kid Spy: The Sound of Danger (Sep. 1, 2020). Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Saves the World (Jun. 1, 2021).

Picture books The Shapes Trilogy - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press) Triangle (Mar. 14, 2017). Square (May 8, 2018). Circle (Mar. 5, 2019). A Jack Book - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Greg Pizzoli (Viking Books) Hi, Jack! (Sep. 3, 2019). Jack Blasts Off! (Sep. 3, 2019). Jack at Bat! (Feb. 4, 2020). Jack Goes West (Feb. 4, 2020). Jack at the Zoo (May 5, 2020). Too Many Jacks (May 5, 2020). Jack and Santa (Oct. 13, 2020). Jack Gets Zapped! (Feb. 2, 2021). Now I See books - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Jon Klassen (Tundra Book Group) Now I See Spring (Apr. 7, 2026). Now I See Winter (Apr. 7, 2026). Now I See Fall (Apr. 7, 2026). Now I See Summer (Apr. 7, 2026). Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, illus. Adam Rex (Hyperion Books, Jun 23, 2009). Guess Again!, illus. Adam Rex (Simon & Schuster, Sep. 15, 2009). The Clock without a Face: a Gus Twintig mystery, Mac Barnett, Eli Horowitz, & Scott Teplin. Illus. Adam Rex & numbers by Anna Sheffield (McSweeney's, Apr. 27, 2010). Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World), illus. Dan Santat (Hyperion, Jun. 1, 2010). Mustache!, illus. Kevin Cornell (Hyperion, Oct. 25, 2011). Extra Yarn, illus. Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray, Jan. 17, 2012). Chloe and the Lion, illus. Adam Rex (Hyperion, Apr. 3, 2012). Oh No, Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or at Least My History Grade), illus. Dan Santat (Hyperion, Jun. 5, 2012). Count the Monkeys, illus. Kevin Cornell, (Hyperion, Jun. 24, 2012). Battle Bunny, Mac Barnett & Jon Scieszka. Illus. Matthew Myers & Alex, but mostly Alex (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 22, 2013). President Taft is Stuck in the Bath, illus. Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick Press, 2014). Telephone, illus. Jen Corace (Chronicle Books, Sep. 9, 2014). Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Oct. 14, 2014). The Skunk, illus. Patrick McDonnell (Roaring Book Press, Apr. 14, 2015). Leo: A Ghost Story, illus. Christian Robinson (Chronicle Books, Aug. 25, 2015). Rules of the House, illus. Matthew Myers (Hyperion, May 3, 2016). How This Book Was Made, illus. Adam Rex (Disney-Hyperion, Sep. 6, 2016). The Magic Word, illus. Elise Parsley (Balzer + Bray, Oct. 4, 2016). Noisy Night, illus. Brian Biggs (Roaring Book Press, Mar. 7, 2017). Places to Be, illus. Renata Liwska (Balzer + Bray, Apr. 4, 2017). I Love You Like a Pig, illus. Greg Pizzoli (Balzer + Bray, Sep. 19, 2017). The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Oct. 10, 2017). The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, illus. Sarah Jacoby (HarperCollins, May 21, 2019). Just Because, illus. Isabelle Arsenault (Candlewick Press, Sep. 10, 2019). Paolo, Emperor of Rome, illus. Claire Keane (Amulet Books, Mar. 31, 2020). A Polar Bear in the Snow, illus. Shawn Harris (Candlewick Press, Oct. 13, 2020). What Is Love?, illus. Carson Ellis (Chronicle Books, Dec. 28, 2021). John's Turn, illus. Kate Berube (Candlewick Press, Feb. 24, 2022). The Great Zapfino, illus. Marla Frazee (Simon & Schuster, Apr. 5, 2022). The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Illus. Jon Klassen. (Orchard Books, Oct. 18, 2022). Twenty Questions, illus. Christian Robinson (Candlewick Press, Mar. 14, 2023). How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney, illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Sep. 12, 2023). Santa's First Christmas, illus. Sydney Smith (Viking Books, Oct. 22, 2024). Rumpelstiltskin, illus. Carson Ellis (Orchard Books, Feb. 3, 2026). The Future Book, illus. Shawn Harris (Random House, Mar. 3, 2026).

Graphic novels

The First Cat in Space - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Shawn Harris (HarperAlley) The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza (May 10, 2022). The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom (Oct. 3, 2023). The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip (Nov. 5, 2024). The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge (Nov. 4, 2025).

Short fiction "Best of Friends", Funny Business (Guys Read, 1), ed. Jon Scieszka (NY: Walden Pond Press, Sep. 22, 2010).

Awards 2013 Winner, E. B. White Read Aloud Award 2013 Honor, Caldecott Medal (Author) 2015 Winner, Irma Black Award 2018 Winner, E.B. White Read Aloud Award 2020 Winner, Picture Book Category of the German Youth Literature Awards for the 2020 one-volume German edition of his trilogy "Triangle", "Square", and "Circle"