Mac Barnett is halfway through a whirlwind National Ambassador tour to meet and inspire young people and adults in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, and North Carolina.

Mac met hundreds of kids at schools –who had such a great time meeting him– and he’s met with families and adults at public libraries, as he takes out the message of the joy of picture books, storytelling, and family reading.
From the dozens of photos, we’ve chosen two from each of his first two visits that capture the spirit of each school and library visit.

In Hanover, PA:

In Elkhart, IN:

Thank you, Mac, and all the wonderful teachers and librarians who helped organize such fun and fulfilling events!

Photos from Marvel, TX and Greensboro, NC to come next week!

ABOUT THE NATIONAL AMBASSADOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE

The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is an initiative of the Library of Congress, in partnership with Every Child a Reader, with generous support from The Library of Congress James Madison Council. The program was established in 2008 by the Library, the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader to emphasize the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people. Previous National Ambassadors include authors Jon Scieszka (2008–2009), Katherine Paterson (2010–2011), Walter Dean Myers (2012–2013), Kate DiCamillo (2014–2015), Gene Luen Yang (2016–2017), Jacqueline Woodson (2018–2019), Jason Reynolds (2020-2022) and Meg Medina (2023-2024). The current Ambassador is Mac Barnett.

ABOUT MAC BARNETT

Mac Barnett is a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. Barnett’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, The Netherlands’ Silver Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. He is the co-creator, with Jon Klassen, of “Shape Island,” a stop-motion animated series on Apple TV+, based on their best-selling Shapes series of picture books. Barnett lives in Oakland, California.