Youth Ambassador

Mac Barnett, the 2025-2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is the ninth writer to hold this position. The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is an initiative of the Library of Congress, in partnership with Every Child a Reader External link, with generous support from the Library of Congress James Madison Council.

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.

The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature raises national awareness of 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.

To learn more about Mac Barnett and his activities as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, please visit his Library of Congress resource guide.