Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California.

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

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, won a Caldecott Honor and the 2015 E.B.

[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.

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