Mac Barnett author page

Mac Barnett biography

Mac Barnett is an American author of children’s books. He has written numerous picture books and novels, including Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, which won a Caldecott Honor in 2013. Barnett’s debut novel, The Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009. He has collaborated with several illustrators, notably Jon Klassen and Christian Robinson.

His picture book Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, also illustrated by Jon Klassen, received a Caldecott Honor and an E. B. White Read Aloud Award. Leo: A Ghost Story, illustrated by Christian Robinson, was published by Chronicle Books in 2015. Barnett’s Triangle, Square, and Circle books, illustrated by Jon Klassen, form a trilogy published between 2017 and 2019.

He has also written the Mac B., Kid Spy series, beginning with Mac Undercover in 2018, published by Orchard Books. Barnett’s works have been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2022, he published What Is Love?, illustrated by Carson Ellis. His books have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and have received multiple awards, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Extra Yarn in 2012.

Mac Barnett’s Extra Yarn was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2014.