Q&A with Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett is the author of several children’s picture books, including the New York Times best-selling “Extra Yarn,” which won the 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book award, “Chloe and the Lion,” and “Guess Again!” His latest book is “Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or at Least My History Grade).” He also writes the Brixton Brothers series of mysteries. Mac lives in Berkeley, Calif.

What are the best books you’ve read recently?
“The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick DeWitt, “A High Wind in Jamaica” by Richard Hughes and “It’s A Secret” by John Burningham.

What was your favorite book as a child?
I love “The Stupids Step Out” by Harry Allard and James Marshall. It has one of the all-time best openers in kids books:

One day Stanley Q. Stupid had an idea.
This was unusual.

Why do you enjoy attending book festivals, either as a presenter or audience member?
Picture books are performances—it just feels right to share my stories out loud.

Have you been to the D.C. area before? If so, what is your favorite thing about it?
There’s so much public art in Washington—I like walking down blocks full of statues and monuments and plaques. The Lincoln Memorial is my favorite place to visit in the middle of the night, when only a few people are there.

What is the most difficult, or challenging, aspect of being a writer?
A lot of my days entail sitting alone in a room getting angry at myself for not writing. That’s lonely and not much fun. And on that delightful note, come see me at the Gaithersburg Book Festival!