National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett has a new picture book coming next year.
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers will publish Barnett’s The Future Book next winter, the press announced in a news release. The first installment in a planned trilogy, the book will be illustrated by Shawn Harris. Barnett and Harris have previously collaborated on books, including A Polar Bear in the Snow and the First Cat in Space series of graphic novels.
Barnett is the author of more than 60 books for children. In February, he was appointed the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress and the literacy nonprofit Every Child a Reader, and announced that he would promote reading under the platform “Behold, The Picture Book! Let’s Celebrate Stories We Can Feel, Hear, and See.”
The Future Book, Knopf says, is “an uproariously funny picture book that imagines how language, habits, and social mores might differ in the future. It uses silly phrases to describe a world full of kid-friendly humor, sure to leave kids and their grown-ups howling with delight.”
Barnett and Harris said in a statement, “We’re very excited—as you’re probably aware, every book ever published was written in the past. Our series is the first that was written in the future. It took the visionaries at Knopf to wrap their heads around this disruption in the space-time continuum.”
The Future Book is slated for publication on March 3, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
