Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett
Barnett in 2025
Born	(1982-08-23) August 23, 1982 (age 43) Castro Valley, California, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Alma mater	Pomona College
Period	2009–present
Genre	Children's books
Notable works	Extra Yarn The Terrible Two (book series) Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
Notable awards	Caldecott Medal E.B. White Read Aloud Award Boston Globe-Horn Book Award German Youth Literature Award Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award Silver Griffel Premio Orbil
Spouse	Taylor Norman
Signature
Website
macbarnett.com

Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California. He was born in Castro Valley, California and grew up in Castro Valley and Oakland. ^[1]

Barnett graduated from Pomona College, where he studied under the writer David Foster Wallace. ^[2]

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. ^[3] 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. ^[4]

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.

In 2011, Barnett wrote the Picture Book Proclamation, an art manifesto about picture books signed by 21 other children's writers. ^[5]

In 2024, Barnett wrote La Porta Segreta, a book for adults about children's books, published in Italian by Terre di Mezzo. ^[6]

In February 2025, Barnett was inaugurated at the Library of Congress as the 2025-6 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. ^[7]

Works

Essays

• La Porta Segreta - Cover by Carson Ellis
• Make Believe - Cover by Carson Ellis

Novels

• The Brixton Brothers - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Adam Rex and Matthew Myers (Simon & Schuster) ^[8]

1. The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (Oct. 6, 2009). ISBN 9781416978169
2. The Ghostwriter Secret (Oct. 5, 2010). ISBN 9781416978183
3. It Happened on a Train (Oct. 4, 2011). ISBN 9781416978190
4. Danger Goes Berserk, illus. Matthew Myers (Oct. 2, 2013). ISBN 9781442439788

• The Terrible Two - By Mac Barnett and Jory John, with illustrations by Kevin Cornell (Amulet Books)

1. The Terrible Two (Jan. 13, 2015). ISBN 9781419727375
2. The Terrible Two Get Worse (Jan. 12, 2016). ISBN 9781419727382
3. The Terrible Two Go Wild (Jan. 9, 2018). ISBN 9781419732058
4. The Terrible Two's Last Laugh (Dec. 24, 2018). ISBN 9781419736216

• Mac B., Kid Spy - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Mike Lowery

1. Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Undercover (Sep. 11, 2018). ISBN 9781338143591
2. Mac B., Kid Spy: The Impossible Crime (Dec. 26, 2018). ISBN 9781338143683
3. Mac B., Kid Spy: Top-Secret Smackdown (Sep. 17, 2019). ISBN 9781338143713
4. Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Cracks the Code (Dec. 26, 2019). ISBN 9781338594232
5. Mac B., Kid Spy: The Sound of Danger (Sep. 1, 2020). ISBN 9781338594263
6. Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Saves the World (Jun. 1, 2021). ISBN 9781338742459

Picture books

• The Shapes Trilogy - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press)
  • Triangle (Mar. 14, 2017). ISBN 9780763696030
  • Square (May 8, 2018). ISBN 9780763696078
  • Circle (Mar. 5, 2019). ISBN 9780763696085
• A Jack Book - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Greg Pizzoli (Viking Books)

1. Hi, Jack! (Sep. 3, 2019). ISBN 9780593113790
2. Jack Blasts Off! (Sep. 3, 2019). ISBN 9780593113851
3. Jack at Bat! (Feb. 4, 2020). ISBN 9780593113820
4. Jack Goes West (Feb. 4, 2020). ISBN 9780593113882
5. Jack at the Zoo (May 5, 2020). ISBN 9780593113929
6. Too Many Jacks (May 5, 2020). ISBN 9780593113943
7. Jack and Santa (Oct. 13, 2020). ISBN 9780593113981
8. Jack Gets Zapped! (Feb. 2, 2021). ISBN 9780593114025

• Now I See books - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Jon Klassen (Tundra Book Group)
  • Now I See Spring (Apr. 7, 2026). ISBN 9781774886731
  • Now I See Winter (Apr. 7, 2026). ISBN 9781774886693
  • Now I See Fall (Apr. 7, 2026). ISBN 9781774886656
  • Now I See Summer (Apr. 7, 2026). ISBN 9781774886779
• Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, illus. Adam Rex (Hyperion Books, Jun 23, 2009). ISBN 9780786849581
• Guess Again!, illus. Adam Rex (Simon & Schuster, Sep. 15, 2009). ISBN 9781416955665
• 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). ISBN 9781934781715
• Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World), illus. Dan Santat (Hyperion, Jun. 1, 2010). ISBN 9781423123125
• Mustache!, illus. Kevin Cornell (Hyperion, Oct. 25, 2011). ISBN 9781423116714
• Extra Yarn , illus. Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray, Jan. 17, 2012). ISBN 9780061953385
• Chloe and the Lion, illus. Adam Rex (Hyperion, Apr. 3, 2012). ISBN 9781423113349
• 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). ISBN 9781423149125
• Count the Monkeys, illus. Kevin Cornell, (Hyperion, Jun. 24, 2012). ISBN 9781423160656
• Battle Bunny, Mac Barnett & Jon Scieszka. Illus. Matthew Myers & Alex, but mostly Alex (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 22, 2013). ISBN 9781442446731
• President Taft is Stuck in the Bath, illus. Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick Press, 2014). ISBN 9780763665562
• Telephone, illus. Jen Corace (Chronicle Books, Sep. 9, 2014). ISBN 9781452110233
• Sam and Dave Dig a Hole , illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Oct. 14, 2014). ISBN 9780763662295
• The Skunk, illus. Patrick McDonnell (Roaring Book Press, Apr. 14, 2015). ISBN 9781596439665
• Leo: A Ghost Story , illus. Christian Robinson (Chronicle Books, Aug. 25, 2015). ISBN 9781452131566
• Rules of the House, illus. Matthew Myers (Hyperion, May 3, 2016). ISBN 9781423185161
• How This Book Was Made, illus. Adam Rex (Disney-Hyperion, Sep. 6, 2016). ISBN 9781423152200
• The Magic Word, illus. Elise Parsley (Balzer + Bray, Oct. 4, 2016). ISBN 9780062354846
• Noisy Night, illus. Brian Biggs (Roaring Book Press, Mar. 7, 2017). ISBN 9781596439672
• Places to Be, illus. Renata Liwska (Balzer + Bray, Apr. 4, 2017). ISBN 9780062286215
• I Love You Like a Pig, illus. Greg Pizzoli (Balzer + Bray, Sep. 19, 2017). ISBN 9780062354839
• The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Oct. 10, 2017). ISBN 9780763677541
• The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, illus. Sarah Jacoby (HarperCollins, May 21, 2019). ISBN 9780062393448
• Just Because, illus. Isabelle Arsenault (Candlewick Press, Sep. 10, 2019). ISBN 9780763696801
• Paolo, Emperor of Rome, illus. Claire Keane (Amulet Books, Mar. 31, 2020). ISBN 9781419741098
• A Polar Bear in the Snow, illus. Shawn Harris (Candlewick Press, Oct. 13, 2020). ISBN 9781536203967
• What Is Love? , illus. Carson Ellis (Chronicle Books, Dec. 28, 2021). ISBN 9781452176406
• John's Turn, illus. Kate Berube (Candlewick Press, Feb. 24, 2022). ISBN 9781536203950
• The Great Zapfino, illus. Marla Frazee (Simon & Schuster, Apr. 5, 2022). ISBN 9781534411548
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff , Illus. Jon Klassen. (Orchard Books, Oct. 18, 2022). ISBN 9781338673845
• Twenty Questions, illus. Christian Robinson (Candlewick Press, Mar. 14, 2023). ISBN 9781536215137
• How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney , illus. Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, Sep. 12, 2023). ISBN 9781536223767
• Santa's First Christmas, illus. Sydney Smith (Viking Books, Oct. 22, 2024). ISBN 9780593524978
• Rumpelstiltskin, illus. Carson Ellis (Orchard Books, Feb. 3, 2026). ISBN 9781338673852
• The Future Book, illus. Shawn Harris (Random House, Mar. 3, 2026). ISBN 9798217033171
  

Graphic novels

• The First Cat in Space - By Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Shawn Harris (HarperAlley)

1. The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza (May 10, 2022). ISBN 9780063084094
2. The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom (Oct. 3, 2023). ISBN 9780063084117
3. The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip (Nov. 5, 2024). ISBN 9780063315280
4. The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge (Nov. 4, 2025). ISBN 9780063415508

Short fiction

• "Best of Friends", Funny Business (Guys Read, 1), ed. Jon Scieszka (NY: Walden Pond Press, Sep. 22, 2010). OCLC   758985737

Awards

• 2013 Winner, E. B. White Read Aloud Award
• 2013 Honor, Caldecott Medal ^[9]
• 2015 Winner, E.B. White Read Aloud Award
• 2015 Honor, Caldecott Medal ^[9]
• 2015 Winner, Irma Black Award ^[10]
• 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" ^[11]

References

1. Berry, Michael (2018-05-28). "YA Author Mac Barnett Releases Three Books This Year". www.oaklandmagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
2. "The quirky lives of childrens'[sic] book writers – Part 1". Ratna Kamath. Bookshelf. October 12, 2011. Pomona College. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
3. "E. B. White Read Aloud Award Winners". the American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
4. "ABA Announces 2015 Indies Choice and E.B. White Award Winners". the American Booksellers Association. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
5. Lodge |, Sally. "Mac Barnett Spearheads 'A Picture Book Manifesto'". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
6. "Mac Barnett: La Porta Segreta an interview with Nikki Gamble". 19 October 2024.
7. "Mac Barnett Named New National Ambassador for Young People's Literature | Timeless".
8. Mac Barnett (macbarnett.com): About; Brixton Brothers. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
9. admin (1999-11-30). "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Retrieved 2017-12-30.
10. "Past Winners (Irma Black Award)". www.bankstreet.edu. Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
11. "Die Sieger des Deutschen Jugendliteraturpreises 2020". jugendliteratur.org. Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• The Picture Book Proclamation
• Interview of Barnett and illustrator Adam Rex
• Mac Barnett at Library of Congress , with 19library catalog records
• Inauguration of 9th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature: Mac Barnett - Library of Congress