# Chapter 163: Jon Klassen talks turtles, tackling tension, and turning toward the terrifying

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-books-with-neil-pasricha-230850/chapter-163-jon-klassen-talks-turtles-tackling-tension-and-turning-toward-the-terrifying
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-books-with-neil-pasricha-230850/chapter-163-jon-klassen-talks-turtles-tackling-tension-and-turning-toward-the-terrifying.md
Podcast: [3 Books With Neil Pasricha](https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-books-with-neil-pasricha-230850)
Published: 2026-07-29T14:35:00+00:00
Episode link: https://threebooks.libsyn.com/chapter-163-jon-klassen-talks-turtles-tackling-tension-and-turning-toward-the-terrifying
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/clean/secure/threebooks/3_Books_-_Jon_Klassen_-_FINALMIX01NJ_-_06192026.mp3?dest-id=671382
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Duration seconds: 8395

## Resource

Happy Buck Moon, everyone! As we sink into the summer heat, I'm thrilled to welcome Jon Klassen on 3 Books ! Jon is a Canadian born, LA living author and illustrator whose darkly humorous, minimalist storytelling has helped define contemporary children's literature. In 2016, Jon concluded his breakout book series ' The Hat Trilogy ', which features ' I Want My Hat Back' , ' This Is Not My Hat' , and ' We Found a Hat. ' 'This Is Not My Hat' was the first book to ever win both the American Library Association's Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal . Jon's books have now sold over 12 million copies (!) and he might be the most decorated children's book author alive. About a month after we recorded this conversation, Jon won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award —a prestigious children's and young adult book award that he accepted from Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm . Nobody deserves this award more than Jon. He is a genius wordsmith, a remarkable illustrator, and a passionate father of two. In this chapter, we talk about Jon's writing routine, what makes a good illustration, the value of accepting fear when writing, how to draw a lying turtle, comfort with contradiction, men's fashion tips, what makes a good children's book, the publishing industry, and of course… Jon's 3 most formative books. Let's flip the page to chapter 163 now…

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