My guest is children's book author and illustrator Jon Klassen.

Jon makes incredible children's books, and he's also really smart about books. And since we both love talking about books, I thought it would be fun to ask Jon to share 5 books that shaped him. Jon picked books from his early childhood. He's not totally sure why they had such an influence, but he was game to try talking it out with me. We also discuss how he landed a career in children's books and break down his creative process (a little bit).

Jon's recent books are The Rock From the Sky (2021), The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2022) (written by Mac Barnett), and his upcoming book The Skull comes out in July (2023).

Jon and Mac also have a new t.v. show: Shape Island on Apple TV+

Jon Klassen's 5 books:

1. The Big Jump and Other Stories written by Benjamin Elkin, Illustrated by Katherine Evans 2. Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman3. In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Dirk Zimmer4. Archie's Double Digest5. The Far Side by Gary Larson

You can read his own words about the books on Moonbow.

Check out the Moonbow archives.

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