Gene Barretta (born September 9, 1960) is an American children's book author and illustrator, animator and character designer.

Barretta graduated from Doane Academy in 1978 and was the school's commencement speaker in 2017.

[1] He graduated from New York University: Tisch School of Arts with a BFA in film studies.

Gene is also the older brother of Muppet performer, writer and director, Bill Barretta.

He has also contributed to children's magazines such as Cobblestone, Odyssey, Faces and Appleseeds.