Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett is a New York Times–bestselling American author of children’s books, known for his picture books and illustrated chapter books, including the Shapes Trilogy (Triangle, Square, Circle), Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, Extra Yarn, The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, and the middle-grade series Mac B., Kid Spy. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold over five million copies worldwide, and has received numerous honors, among them two Caldecott Honors, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, as well as international prizes such as Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, the Netherlands’ Zilveren Griffel/Silver Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil.

Born in 1982 and raised in California, Barnett studied literature at Pomona College, where he was taught by writer David Foster Wallace. In 2025 he was named the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress, becoming the ninth creator to hold this role. He frequently collaborates with illustrator Jon Klassen, including on Triangle (the first book in the Shapes Trilogy), and is co