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# Adventure Stories for Kids
"Something terrible is happening in the skies! Rats are eating the moon! There’s only one hero for the job, a bold and fearsome beast bioengineered in a secret lab to be the moon’s savior and Earth’s last hope! And that hero is . . . a cat. A cat who will be blasted into space!"
This September, you can meet Mac Barnett, the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of action-packed and hysterical stories for children likeThe First Cat in Space at Jax Book Fest: Youth Readers' Day. Perfect for fans of Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier, and Jeff Kinney, “He is a believer that... ‘life is absurd, and kids know that.’” (The San Francisco Chronicle).
# Meet Mac Barnett
Junior Lit Chat Author Talk & Book Giveaway
Get to know our featured author from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 20, at Main Library. Please note: A limited number of copies of The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip will be given away to school-age children in attendance (while supplies last). A book signing will follow the interview, with additional books available for purchase on-site from Happy Medium Books Café.
Pre-register for this program See all upcoming
Please note: This program is recommended for families with kids, ages 5-12, but is open to all. To save your seat, please pre-register with your Jacksonville Public Library card. If you don't have a card, adult residents can apply online (in as little as two minutes), or you can apply in-person at your local library. If you are unable to pre-register, walk-ins are welcome (as long as there are seats remaining). There is no registration required for Jax Book Fest or the author's book signing.
# Learn More About the Author
Mac Barnett is the ninth U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed by the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader. He’s a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children whose work has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. Mac’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.
Check out this author's books from your library including:
- Jack Books (series)
- The First Cat in Space (series)
- Mac B., Kid Spy (series)
- The Terrible Two (series)
- Brixton Brothers (series)
Click here for a fully orchestrated dramatic read-aloud of the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel, The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, performed by the book's authors, Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris. You can also visit The First Cat in Space Fan Club to download a DIY Live Cartoons Kit.
Did you know? The book shares a title with the Live Cartoons Mac and Shawn posted to Instagram in 12 weekly installments back in 2020. "It was a weird, scary time, and Mac and I wanted to tell a story to comfort and entertain families (including our own) suddenly stuck at home during quarantine," Shawn said. "To tell it, we combined elements from picture books, puppetry, comics, animation, and filmmaking, and we recorded it all live over a Zoom call."
If You Like Mac Barnett's Books, You May Also Like...
Picture Books
- The Bad Seed by Jory John
- We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen
- Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty
- Home by Carson Ellis
- Dad and the Dinosaur by Gennifer Choldenko
- Unstoppable by Adam Rex
- Flat Cat by Tara Lazar
- Max the Brave by Ed Vere
Chapter Books
- Legends of Lotus Island: The Guardian Test by Christina Soontornvat
- The Story of Gumluck and the Heroes by Adam Rex
- Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka
- Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans by Gary Northfield
- Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve
- Sleuths on the Loose by G.T. Karber
- The Princess in Black—series by Shannon Hale
- Real Pigeons—series by Andrew McDonald
Graphic Novels
- HiLo—series by Judd Winick
- The Aquanaut by Dan Santat
- Dino Poet by Tom Angleberger
- Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: The Graphic Novel by Chris Grabenstein
- Wolf’s Class: Mystery Club by Aron Nels Steinke
- Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby
- Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy by Jonathan Hill
- The Last Comics on Earth by Max Brallier
Jax Book Fest 2025: September 13 & 20
Held annually at the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville, Jax Book Fest is our biggest, boldest celebration of authors, authorship, and the written word. It's also a great opportunity for Jax readers to find and support local authors.
This year, the event takes place over two Saturdays, starting with Jax Book Fest: Writers' Day from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on September 13. That first weekend will focus on workshops for local writers; the second Saturday will be devoted to young readers and connecting them with books they'll love. If you've got kids and teens who love books and want to know more about the people who make them: Join us at Jax Book Fest: Youth Readers' Day from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 20.
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