Awesome Ambassador

Jon Scieszka may write funny books, but he takes his role as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature quite seriously

In his role as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in the United States, bestselling children's author Jon Scieszka has the opportunity to do even more of what he loves most—promoting quality children's literature, encouraging youngsters (especially boys) to read, and praising teachers' work.

"I like to brag about what a great job teachers are doing and try to get some of the pressure off them," Scieszka said in a recent interview for Reading Today. He noted that teachers are often pressured by testing, by having to teach from a rigid curriculum, and by having to adhere to a strict list of books to use. "The testing is taking up so much time, and it just rips the heart out of teaching," Scieszka added. "Teaching is not just a job, it's an art, and you have to give teachers room to practice that art."

Providing teachers and children with quality literature helps the process, too. Scieszka has been doing this for years, enticing young readers with funny, irreverent books such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Math Curse, Baloney, and the Time Warp Trio series. His new Trucktown series has extended his fan base even further among the preschool/kindergarten set.

Scieszka believes his years as a classroom teacher give him a real-world perspective on what kids enjoy reading. "It comes from having lived with kids for 10 years in the classroom," he said. "I think that's the strength of all I've written."

Scieszka said that serving as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature has "gone beyond all my expectations of what it could be." He noted that writers, illustrators, teachers, and publishers are always "talking among ourselves" at events such as the IRA Annual Convention and the American Library Association conference.

"We really need to represent ourselves out in the bigger world," he said. "That's what this position has made possible." His appointment was featured in The New York Times, and he appeared on Martha Stewart's television show. Just prior to the National Book Festival in Washington this fall, he will receive a medal and get to speak with President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Librarian of Congress James Billington, and other dignitaries.

Scieszka said that his role as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature also gives him a forum to talk about his Guys Read program (www.guysread.com), which he designed to encourage boys to read. It's been a longstanding goal of his "just to try to get people to make that first step of realizing that boys and girls read differently," he said. "I think we've made great strides in the past five or six years in raising awareness. At least we're thinking about it and talking about it."

He noted that the things that motivate boys also work for all students—including extending the notion of reading beyond fiction to include nonfiction, comics, and other forms of writing. "We should be giving children choices and giving them the excitement of reading," he said.

That desire to promote the excitement of reading led Scieszka to one of his latest ventures—working with Pearson on a new elementary basal reading series. He's bringing his popular Trucktown books to that series, leveled for young readers. He also is contributing to Pearson's middle and upper grade language arts programs, where authors are invited to explain how they work.

Part of Scieszka's impetus for contributing to a basal reading series dates back to his own learning-to-read years. "My growing-up reading definitely informs what I feel is the best way to reach kids with reading," he said. He found Dick and Jane deadly boring, recalling that he'd get to the end and think, "Why did I bother to read that?"

At the same time, he was reading at home with his parents from books such as Green Eggs and Ham; Go Dog, Go; Caps for Sale; and The Five Chinese Brothers. "That's how I became a reader," he said.

"I just really want to catch those kids who think they're not readers," Scieszka said. He wants to provide kids with material so compelling that they just pick up the reading habit and get hooked. "Better that I be part of the process than just complain about it," he added. "Better that I be on the inside and help change it."

Scieszka's other current projects include Melvin Might, a new Trucktown book. Next up is a picture book version of Alice in Wonderland using art from the Disney film. But his favorite recent project is the autobiographical Knucklehead, coming out this fall from Viking. The book features 38 brief chapters describing often hilarious scenes from his growing-up years. His favorite part of the book, though, is the cover, which resembles the World War II comic books he enjoyed as a kid, complete with a picture of a young Jon Scieszka emerging from the turret of a tank.

Replete with "tall tales and mostly true stories about growing up Scieszka," the book spotlights Catholic school escapades, family car trips, adventures with toy army soldiers, and the story of how Jon and his five brothers came to be called "Knuckleheads." It even gives an answer to the often-asked question as to where he gets his book ideas. "The more I think about it," he writes in Knucklehead, "the more I realize that I get a lot of my ideas from all the strange things that happened to me growing up with five brothers."

Of course, for Scieszka's legions of fans, where he gets his ideas is far less important than ensuring that he continues to get them. Given the variety of current projects he already has in development and the wealth of possibilities contained in the stories from Knucklehead, his fans can feel safe in assuming that the well won't go dry any time soon. And that's good news for readers of all ages.

IRA books spotlight boys

When it comes to reading, teen and preteen boys are often the most challenging students. In his 2002 IRA book To Be a Boy, To Be a Reader: Engaging Teen and Preteen Boys in Active Literacy, William G. Brozo says that one solution involves using literature with positive male archetypes, thereby capturing boys' imaginations and engendering a lifetime love of literature. In the book, he defines several archetypes and shares vignettes of teachers who use innovative strategies and activities that draw on these archetypes in outstanding young adult books.

In a forthcoming book titled Bright Beginnings for Boys: Engaging Young Boys in Active Literacy, scheduled for publication in December 2008, Debby Zambo and Brozo offer even more practical suggestions for helping boys become readers. Watch the December/January issue of Reading Today for further information about this exciting new title.

To order or learn more about IRA books, visit the Publications area of the IRA website at www.reading.org.