Mac Undercover - By Mac Barnett ( Hardcover )

About the Book

James Bond meets "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" in this groundbreaking new chapter book series. After the Crown Jewels are stolen, only one person can help the Queen of England: Mac B., her newest secret agent. With fascinating historical facts masterfully sprinkled throughout, this series offers adventure, intrigue, absurdity, history, and humor. Full color.

Book Synopsis

A thrilling, hilarious fully-illustrated spy adventure series, from the esteemed New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author Mac Barnett!

A New York Times bestsellerAn Amazon Best Book of 2018Before Mac Barnett was an author, he was a kid.And while he was a kid, he was a spy.Not just any spy.But a spy...for the Queen of England.James Bond meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid with this groundbreaking fully-illustrated chapter book series Mac B., Kid Spy. The precious Crown Jewels have been stolen, and there's only one person who can help the Queen of England: her newest secret agent, Mac B. Mac travels around the globe in search of the stolen treasure...but will he find it in time?From secret identities to Karate hijinks, this fast-paced, witty and historically inspired chapter book will keep readers guessing until the very last page. With full-color illustrations and fascinating historical facts masterfully sprinkled throughout, this series offers adventure, intrigue, absurdity, history and humor. Discover this totally smart and side-splittingly funny series, and experience what it's really like to be a kid spy.

From the Back Cover

The Queen of England is calling, and she has a secret mission...JUST FOR MAC.

My name is Mac Barnett. I am an author. But before I was an author, I was a kid. And when I was a kid, I was a spy. The story you are about to read is true. This actually happened to me. Open this book to find out more about my adventures. But beware--this mission is top secret and very dangerous!

Review Quotes

Praise for Mac Undercover (Mac B., Kid Spy #1): A New York Times bestseller!An Amazon Best Book of 2018* Barnett and Lowery bring the funny to the serious art of espionage in a perfect interplay of text and illustration...Barnett interweaves tidbits of global history fit for trivia lovers, while Lowery's comic-style images play a key role in the humor...Told with a sense of nostalgia for 1980s history and pop culture, the silliness and originality of this book will hook young readers. -- School Library Journal, starred reviewBarnett takes his readers on a fun-filled ride...Barnett's tone throughout the story is humorous, lighthearted, and a little glib, and the over-the-top story is sure to appeal to many readers...an enjoyable romp that will leave readers salivating for the sequel. -- Kirkus Reviews[Barnett's] riotous series debut as an adult recalling a 1980s childhood caper...goofy, two-color pictures by Lowery (the Doodle Adventure series) ramp up the silliness of this adventure...which should snare even the most hesitant readers. --Publishers WeeklyBarnett's knack for both quirky situational humor and heartfelt sentiment work in tandem to create a balanced-while still outrageous-early-chapter-book caper. Lowery's frequent cartoony black, yellow, and blue spot illustrations are integral to the narrative, providing clues to eagle-eyed readers and enhancing the humor. --The Horn BookBarnett's series falls squarely in line with works from Jon Scieszka's and Dav Pilkey's oeuvres, offering kids another solid choice for what to read next. -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksFunny as a crumpet. (But truly, secretly a hundred times smarter.)--Jon Scieszka, author of Caldecott Honor The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the New York Timesbestselling series Frank Einstein.With a perfectly absurd premise, dialogue that demands outlandish accents, and a plot that interweaves global history and complete silliness, Barnett royally nails it. --Abby Hanlon, author of the Dory Fantasmagory series.Praise for The Impossible Crime (Mac B., Kid Spy #2): : An instant New York Times bestseller!Barnett opens his casebook again-this time to solve a classic locked-room mystery...Almost every page contains Lowery's illustrations, loosely drawn and garishly colored in green and orange, which give the whole affair a zany feel that is much enhanced by the narrative with its running gags. Kudos to a pint-size Poirot, pre-Mustache! - BooklistBarnett's signature dry wit and snappy back-and-forths, particularly between the ingenuously sincere Mac and the standoffish Queen, keep the story steadily moving forward; a convoluted historical account of Colonel Blood's attempted robbery...Lowery's cartoony spot art, in black, green, and orange, provides additional historical and cultural information and frequently supports the narrative. - Horn BookBarnett and Lowery team up again in this second outing of international espionage mystery with royal overtones... this is a nifty mystery for young readers and a worthy sequel to the first. - Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Top Secret Smackdown (Mac B., Kid Spy #3): Exciting action sneakily infused with points about the relationship between reality and story, delivered by a narrator who can claim with literal truth that he saved the day on porpoise. -- Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Mac Barnett: [Mac Barnett is] a great young writer of books for young people. If you haven't read his work, run somewhere and do that. Books for young people have a rich and I daresay limitless future--knock anyone who says otherwise into a ditch--and Mac has a central place within that limitless future. Don't bet against him or anyone like him. --Dave Eggers[In Barnett's books] there is no magic solution to any problem: The characters stumble through their dilemmas just as every one of us does. The world is a difficult yet good place, and there is no need for the typical rose-colored lenses that other children's books put on situations in order to fend off the bad stuff. --Yiyun LiHe is a believer that picture books can have Swiftian absurdity and untidy endings, and that 'life is absurd, and kids know that.'-- The San Francisco Chronicle

About The Author

Mac Barnett is the author of several books for children, including Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, a Caldecott Honor Book and winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, a New York Timesbestseller; and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, a Caldecott Honor Book and winner of the E. B. White Read Aloud Award. He is the co-author, with Jory John, of the New York Times bestselling series The Terrible Two. Mac Barnett lives in California.



Mike Lowery, creator of the Doodle Adventures series and The Kid's Awesome Activity Calendar, is an illustrator whose work appears in everything from greeting cards to children's books. He lives with his wife and two children in Atlanta, Georgia.