John's Turn

E. B. White Read-Aloud winner Mac Barnett celebrates individuality in a story told with tenderness and subtlety.

It’s John’s big day at school today—a performance for Sharing Gifts time. His bag is carefully packed and prepared, his classmates are ready, and the curtain is waiting to open. John is nervous, looking out at all the other children staring back at him. But he takes a big breath and begins. Mac Barnett’s compassionate text and Kate Berube’s understated and expressive art tell the story of a kid who finds the courage to show others his talent for dancing.

Mac Barnett is the author of numerous books for children, including A Polar Bear in the Snow, illustrated by Shawn Harris; Just Because, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault; President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen; and several books illustrated by Jon Klassen, including Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, which received a Caldecott Honor and an E. B. White Read-Aloud Award; The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse; and the shape trilogy. Mac Barnett lives in California.

Kate Berube is the author-illustrator of Hannah and Sugar, which won the Marion Vannett Ridgway Award and the Oregon Book Award for Children’s Literature, and Mae’s First Day of School, which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Children’s Literature. Kate Berube lives in Oregon with her family.