The current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett’s new book — touted as a “grown-up conversation” on children’s literature — was released last Tuesday, and within a day, his peers were calling for his apology.
The new book "Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children,“ is, in fact, the author’s first venture for adults, a three-essay argument for the value and enormous responsibility of storytelling for younger generations. While the book’s effort was largely warmly received — The New York Times likened his breezy, authoritative but accessible approach to “the chatty tone of a slightly obsessive, over-caffeinated friend sitting in your passenger seat with 90 minutes until the next exit.” But Barnett’s industry peers were quick to zero in on a specific section in which he claims: “Maybe more like 94.7 percent of kids’ books are crud.”
For context, Barnett — who, himself, has penned more than 60 children’s titles — cites Sturgeon’s Law, the eponymous adage by sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon that sweepingly claims ’90 percent of everything is crud.’ For what he calls “Barnett’s Addendum,” he continues, “I have a nagging fear that children’s literature suffers from a slightly higher crud percentage than literature as a whole.”
Authors’ and industry professionals’ responses were swift and immediate on social media — ranging from a call to step down from his ambassador position to criticisms of his words’ impact on the rest of children’s author community. “[H]is 94.7% of kid lit is crud statement reeks of a higher percentage than even a moms for liberty rep would say,” wrote “All Boys Aren’t Blue” author George M Johnson on Threads.
Barnett’s response arrived live-ish. In a Wednesday book launch event, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” author and moderator Jeff Kinney broached the topic (“some of your thoughts have caused a stir on social media” received a few chuckles) at his Plainville bookstore, An Unlikely Story. In videos circulating from the event, Barnett calls the “crud” passage a “hyperbolic sentence. I was being loose at the exact time I should have been tightening.”
“I saw that sentence [screenshotted on social media] and my name next to it and I was like, ‘Oh no.’ ...” he continued. “I would not write it the same way again. If anybody saw it and felt like I let them down, I am so sorry.” Thursday, a similar statement was issued via the Library of Congress. Barnett, who was appointed as the LOC’s 2025-2026 National Ambassador last February, wrote, “in trying to make a point, I got hyperbolic and glib. I was wrong. I’m truly sorry.”
For some authors, the harm still needs to be remedied.
Industry publication School Library Journal had published a letter signed by prominent children’s authors, calling for the LOC and Children’s Book Council to “publicly and immediately address the harm caused by this statement and work to minimize the damage already done.” Pointing to Barnett’s words, the letter adds, “we have seen that very word used as a cudgel and dog whistle to decry the necessary diversification of children’s literature.” Kirkus reported more than 400 individuals had co-signed the letter as of Friday.
Paul Swydan, who owns The Silver Unicorn bookstore in Acton, hasn’t read “Make Believe,” but said he’s aware of the author’s broader advocacy for children’s books.
“Where I think his ‘crud’ comment goes astray is that he is advocating more for his type of children’s literature, rather than children’s literature in general,” he wrote in a statement to the Globe. “He does a great job of writing irreverent, silly books, and certainly the world can always use those types of books. But what I’ve seen from those who have taken umbrage with his comments is the sense that he is in essence hand waving every other type of book.”
For Swydan, a consequence may be reconsidering how and if to sell Barnett’s other titles: “In the future, our orders of his books will be muted, at best, and a large component of whether we sell them at all will depend on the illustrator,” he continued. “One thing that I think, in his privilege, he failed to reckon with is the fact that his books almost always come with big budgets, which means top-flight illustrators — Christian Robinson, Jon Klassen, Carson Ellis, Shawn Harris, Sydney Smith. These are award-winning illustrators who most authors would sell a kidney to work with.For Barnett, they’re par for the course.”
Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. She can be reached at rachel.raczka@globe.com.