Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen is the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of I Want My HatBack, which was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year. He returned with another hat and another thief in This Is Not My Hat, which won the Caldecott Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal, and concluded the trilogy with We Found a Hat, another #1 New York Times bestseller.

Additionally, he is the creator of The Skull, The Rock from the Sky, The House with Nobody in It, and the Your Places and Your Things board book series. He is also the illustrator of numerous children’s books, including Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn, both Caldecott Honor Books, and Triangle, Square, and Circle, all by Mac Barnett; House Held Up by Trees by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Ted Kooser; Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson, which won a Governor General’s Literary Award; The Dark by Lemony Snicket; the Skunk and Badger series by Amy Timberlake; and the Pax series by Sara Pennypacker.

Beyond his extensive children’s book oeuvre, Jon Klassen has also worked as an illustrator for feature animated films, music videos, and editorial pieces. His animation projects include design work for DreamWorks Feature Animation as well as LAIKA Studios on their feature film Coraline and co-creating and co-executive producing the Emmy-winning children’s show Shape Island with Mac Barnett. For his contributions to children’s literature, Jon Klassen is a member of the Order of Canada and was named the 2026 recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.