The Terrible Two is a middle-grade fiction novel for readers between the ages of 8 to 12 and is a school-based story, a subgenre of children’s literature that focuses on kids navigating school life. Including student hijinks, caricatures of administrators, and highlighting the triumphs of friendship, these novels are widely loved by school-aged kids who appreciate the humorous take on what can be a tense and anxiety-inducing time in life. Following in the footsteps of similar school-based novels like Matilda by Roald Dahl, Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, and the Wayside School series by Louis Sachar, the novel uses comedic elements to engage the readers while tackling more serious subject matter such as bullying and anxiety.

Known for his imaginative storytelling, Barnett has written numerous picture books and believes that there is great power in a well-illustrated book, especially for reading aloud. As a kid, Barnett was obsessed with pranking and read many books on the subject, though he was never brave enough to carry any of them out at school, fearing he would get into trouble. He did, however, test his pranks out on his mom at home. Just like his protagonist Miles, Barnett has a prank notebook full of diagrams and elaborate descriptions of his pranks.