Jon Scieszka (SHEH-ska) (born September 8, 1954 in Flint, Michigan, U.S.) is an American author of children's literature, best known for his collaborations with illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate. In early 2008, he was named the "Ambassador for Children's Literature" by the Library of Congress.[1]
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Personal life
Scieszka is the second oldest of five sons to father Louis Scieszka, an elementary school principal, and mother Shirly, a Registered Nurse. He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana, graduating in three years, and began to study medicine at Albion College. He eventually received a B.A. in writing in 1976, and turned down an acceptance to Johns Hopkins Medical School, opting instead to attend Columbia University's writing program where he received a Master of Fine Arts in 1980. After graduating, Jon worked in a variety of capacities: teaching elementary school, writing for magazines, painting apartments, and working as a carpenter and lifeguard. Scieszka currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with his wife Jerilyn, son Jake, and daughter Casey.
Professional life
According to Scieszka, he writes books because he "love[s] to make kids laugh." Most of his noted works have come via collaborations with illustrator Lane Smith, who does the artwork for Scieszka's words. Among their noted collaborations include The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stories, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and Math Curse, all of which won various awards. He is also the principal author of the Time Warp Trio series, which Smith illustrated a number of installments in the popular series. Scieszka has also branched out on his own, editing the essay compilation Guys Write for Guys Read, which featured over eighty essays from noted authors who shared stories from their own childhoods, The Book That Jack Wrote, which was illustrated by Daniel Adel, and the acclaimed The Frog Prince, Continued. The Guys Read compilation stems from his personal nonprofit literacy program for boys and men, Guys Read, which he created due to his reaction to United States government statistics regarding literacy amongst boys, as well as society's attitudes toward masculinity.
Works
Scieszka has written and edited a number of books for various publishers.
Selected bibliography
- The Frog Prince, Continued (illustrated by Steve Johnson) - Viking Press - 1991
- The Book That Jack Wrote (illustrated by Daniel Adel) - Viking Press - 1997
Collaborations with Lane Smith
- Baloney, (Henry P.) - Viking Press - 1991
- The Stinky Cheese Man - Viking Press - 1992
- Math Curse - Viking Press - 1995
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs - Viking Press - 1996
- Squids Will Be Squids - Viking Press - 1998
- Science Verse - Viking Press - 2004
- Cowboy and Octopus - Viking Press - 2007
The Time Warp Trio
- For the article about the Time Warp Trio, see The Time Warp Trio
Jon Scieszka has written a number of books featuring The Time Warp Trio, a group of children who go back in time to various moments in history. The early books were illustrated by Lane Smith, the latter by Adam McCauley. The dates in some cases reflect reissues, with noted books in the series including:
- Summer Reading Is Killing Me! - Penguin Books - 2000
- It's All Greek to Me - Penguin Books - 2001
- Sam Samurai - Penguin Books - 2002
- Knights of the Kitchen Table - Penguin Books - 2004
- The Not-so-Jolly Roger- The Time Warp Trio -
- Me Oh Maya
As editor
- Guys Write for Guys Read - Viking - 2005
References
External links
- An interview with Jon Scieszka at Bookslut.com
- Stripped Books: Jon & Lane Go to Barnes & Noble
- Guys Read, Jon's literacy program for guys of all ages.
