“This Is Not My Hat” - Last week we did “I Want My Hat Back”, this week we’re doing its follow-up. I meant to say in the last post, these readings…they are not definitive. I’m ok at reading my books. I’m ok at it. Some writers really know how to read their work, they write with the reading all figured out. I’m always a little surprised when I have to do it, I don’t always know how it sounds out loud. Reading out loud is a skill like any other, I think, like drawing or singing. If you read a book, like a novel, and you have pictures in your head of what you’re reading, it doesn’t mean you can draw them & I think the same goes for out-loud reading. When you read text in your head it can have depth and subtlety that you couldn’t necessarily actually perform to people, but it’s still in there, somewhere. That’s what I tell myself, anyway.
Ok, next week we will conclude with the last book in the set: “We Found A Hat”
On the occasion of “We Found A Hat” getting released as a board book, I’m going through all three hat books in board book form! This week is “I Want My Hat Back”, next week will be “This Is Not My Hat” & the week after will be “We Found A Hat”, and that is the week of its board book release! Very clever.
Introducing Jon Klassen (@jonklassen ), whose new print edition, Your Rock (2026), will be made available from Marta Editions (@marta.editions ) later this month.
Scroll through all twelve slides to see some of the Canadian-born, Los Angeles-dwelling Klassen’s canonical works, several of which have directly and indirectly informed Your Rock.
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Jon Klassen (US)
Your Rock, 2026
Three-Color Screenprint
w/ Hand-Made Marks by the Artist
10.0 H × 13.0 W in.
(25.4 H × 33.0 W cm)
Edition of 100 + 10AP
Signed + Numbered
Register your interest at or email [email protected]
By signing up for the M.E. newsletter at , you are entitled to 10% off your first print order.
Portrait of the artist by Jen Capriola.
Thursday, May 14
Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
Co-presented with @826valencia@macbarnett has written award-winning picture books and was selected to be the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature (2025-2026). @jonklassen was an illustrator and animator, working on films like “Kung Fu Panda” and “Coraline,” before creating his best-selling “hat” trilogy.
They’ve worked together on an animated series “Shape Island,” and newsletter “Looking at Picture Books.”
Join us for a conversation on their collaborations and Barnett’s new book, “Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children.”
@stoppingoffplace has done us the very great honour of agreeing to do some guest posts for us on the Looking at Picture Books substack that @macbarnett & I have, and today was the first one.
I found Michael’s blog years before I’d done any books of my own, and his lens on picture books and art for and by children was formative. He imbued the work with a consideration, a legitimacy and an intimacy that I carried with me when I sat down to make work of my own. He is able to remind you how special this stuff is and can be.
I’ve felt so lucky to call him a friend for many years, and to have him agree to come on the newsletter has made the project all the more worthwhile. We are so happy and thankful to have him ❤️
The 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award goes to Canadian illustrator and picture book artist Jon Klassen.
The jury’s motivation:
“Through his subtle and evocative storytelling in words and pictures, Jon Klassen opens new perspectives on our place in the universe. What happens when a rock falls from the sky, when hats disappear or a skull begins living a life of its own? With precision, emotion and inventive wit, life’s challenges of uncertainty and hopefulness are portrayed in an interplay of colour and form. Jon Klassen’s brilliant tales stand out for their effortless elegance and ambiguous depth, where the reader becomes a co-creator.”
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award amounts to 5 million Swedish kronor (approx. 464 000 EUR, 530 000 USD) making it the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature. The award will be presented by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden on May 25, 2026, at the Concert Hall in Stockholm.
Find out more about this year’s laureate on our website (link in bio).
Follow: @jonklassen
Photo: Carson Ellis
#astridlindgrenmemorialaward #jonklassen
Available now, the NOW I SEE collection is a unique quartet of board books that playfully shows the changing seasons from a child’s point of view.
Today's the last day to join the NOW I SEE mail club, submit via the link in bio to be a member!
San Francisco!
@macbarnett and I are coming to give a special talk. More info and a link to tickets are in our respective bios. We hope to see you there ❤️
@jonklassen and I will present an evening for adults about children's literature at @cityartssf on May 14. This is, I think, the first time picture book authors have talked about picture books on the City Arts & Lectures stage since Maurice Sendak in 1993. We're excited. Grab your tickets! Link in bio.
Oh we are vibing with this book trailer! Pop over to Jon and Mac's Substack for their conversation about making a “book trailer” for their new board book series, Now I See.
