February 2012
1 post
Some Events with Jon Klassen
Jon is coming up to the Bay Area and we’re doing some events around town. We’ll read, he’ll probably draw a little, I may even draw a little. We’ll answer any question and sign any book. Here’s the schedule:
Sunday, March 4, 2:00pm: Petaluma, CA Copperfield’s Books
Monday, March 5, 3:30pm: Petaluma, CA Copperfield’s Books (this is just an informal...
January 2012
6 posts
Tanya Turek reviews Extra Yarn →
1 tag
“[Extra Yarn] possesses the qualities of the old-fashioned magical realism that...”
– The Wall Street Journal
Visit the new Brixton Brothers website. →
BB3 Nominated for an Edgar Award
I’ll be spending the rest of the day brushing my tuxedo: It Happened on a Train has just been nominated for an Edgar Award. That’s the book’s cover up above, drawn by Adam Rex, who illustrated the book as well. To celebrate, I’m posting a bit of Brixton fan art by Christian Robinson, a brilliant artist whose work I love. It’s a scene from BB1: The Case of the Case...
December 2011
3 posts
Tanya Turek reviews Mustache! →
SAVE THE PYTHONS!
My new book with Kevin Cornell, Mustache! contains a spread where citizens pick up hilarious protest signs and storm a king’s castle. (I can say the signs are hilarious because Kevin wrote them.) Here’s the spread:
Last Friday, I visited Crocker Highlands Elementary here in my hometown of Oakland, and the library was full of Mustache!-inspired signage. Some favorites are below.
...
A fourth starred review for Extra Yarn in the Horn... →
November 2011
4 posts
EXTRA YARN GETS ITS THIRD STARRED REVIEW FROM...
*EXTRA YARN Barnett, Mac (Author), Klassen, Jon (Illustrator)
This picture book is certain to spark the imagination of every child who comes upon it, and what could be better than that? Annabelle lives in a black-and-white world, where everything is drab, drab, drab. So imagine her surprise when she finds a box filled with yarn of every color. Armed with the yarn and knitting needles, she makes...
School Library Journal gives Extra Yarn its second...
From School Library Journal:
*EXTRA YARN by Mac Barnett, illus. Jon Klassen
In a snow- and soot-covered town, Annabelle discovers a small black box filled with colorful yarn. She knits a sweater for herself, but there’s still yarn left over. From the seemingly inexhaustible supply, she knits sweaters for her dog, a boy and his dog, her classmates, her mean teacher, her parents, and people in...
NEW YORK EVENT: Bank Street Bookstore, 11/15/11
I’m at SFO, flying to JFK for an event at the terrific Bank Street Bookstore. The reading is at 4:00 on Tuesday, 15 November 2011, and if you live in New York, I’d love to see you there. Also, I forgot to pack my coat.
WATERMARKGATE
It’s been one week since I discovered one of David Plouffe’s personalized notecards mixed in with my stationery set, and, still, the questions remain.
What does it all mean? Is this my Wonka moment? Does this notecard entitle me to a tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? At the end of that tour, will I be named the 45th President of the United States? Were those holes in the White House...
October 2011
3 posts
A Starred Review for Extra Yarn
From Publishers Weekly:
* Extra Yarn Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-195338-5 Understated illustrations and prose seamlessly construct an enchanting and mysterious tale about a girl named Annabelle, who lives in a world “where everywhere you looked was either the white of snow or the black of soot from chimneys.” After Annabelle finds a...
Publishers Weekly on the Picture Book Proclamation →
July 2011
1 post
Cabaret Bastille
Readers who can legally loiter by an absinthe fountain may enjoy attending Litquake’s Cabaret Bastille, where I will channel F. Scott Fitzgerald and, in a medium mishap of extra-large proportions, keep channeling F. Scott Fitzgerald until I wake up a bloated screenwriter in some nondescript backlot bungalow. Should be fun!
May 2011
3 posts
See the Goods
The McSweeney’s site now features five clickable, viewable images of The Goods, a gallimaufry of games, puzzles, comics, and other diversions, appearing in newspapers and edited by me. Each week, a cavalcade of artists and writers from the world of children’s books will contribute amusements that will enthrall kids and most adults. Thoughtfully conceived and visually stunning, every issue...
Cover Story
On his blog, in two installments, Adam Rex takes the cover of Brixton Brothers #3: It Happened on a Train from sketch to final painting, and tells how Steve lost a towel and gained a robe along the way. The book comes out in October.
BEA
I’ll be at Book Expo America this year, at the Javits Center in New York City, signing Mustache, illustrated by Kevin Cornell. I’ll also draw a mustache on the face of anybody who wants one. Here’s my schedule: 5/24 11:oo am: Guys Read Panel with Jon Scieszka, Eoin Colfer, Matt de la Peña, and Jarrett Krosoczka. 1:00 Signing and mustaching at the signing area