Jess Brallier facts for kids
Jess M. Brallier, born on May 31, 1953, is a super creative publisher! He works on all sorts of cool projects, like bestselling books, popular websites, and even apps. He helped create Poptropica, which is one of the biggest online virtual worlds for kids. Jess also helped launch famous brands like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Galactic Hot Dogs. He even helped turn Poptropica into toys, educational tools, and books! Besides all that, Jess has written or co-written 31 books himself, including one called Lawyers and Other Reptiles.
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Jess Brallier's Publishing Adventures
Jess Brallier started his career in marketing for book publishers. He worked for companies like Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and Little Brown. In 1992, he started his own children's book company called Planet Dexter.
Creating Poptropica
In 2007, Jess launched Poptropica, a fun online game for kids. It's a role-playing website where players create their own virtual characters, called "avatars." These avatars then get to explore different islands and solve mysteries.
Poptropica became the world's largest virtual world for kids! Kids from over 130 countries played the game in more than 100 languages. About 10 million kids visited the site every month. Time Magazine even called it one of the 50 Best Websites!
Launching Bestselling Books
Jess Brallier also helped launch some very famous books. In 2004, he was the first to publish Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid online. This happened on the website FunBrain, two years before the book was printed! He did something similar in 2013 with the online comic series Galactic Hot Dogs.
Jess used to be a Senior Vice President and Publisher at Pearson's Family Education Network. This company ran Funbrain and Poptropica. Later, another company called Sandbox Partners bought them in 2015.
Jess has written or co-written over 30 books. About half of these are for adults, and the other half are for kids. He also won an award for his amazing marketing work on three New York Times bestselling books. Jess is also a popular speaker.
About Jess Brallier's Life
Jess Brallier grew up in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. He went to the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University. Today, he lives in New York City with his wife. He works from both Boston and New York. They have two grown-up children. One of their children is Max Brallier, who is also an author and wrote Galactic Hot Dogs!
Books by Jess Brallier
Jess Brallier has written many books for both kids and adults. Some of his books include:
- Tess's Tree (illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds)
- Presidential Wit and Wisdom: Maxims, Mottoes, Sound Bites, Speeches, Asides, and Memorable Quotes from America’s Presidents (with Sally Chabert)
- Lawyers and Other Reptiles
- “Whaddaya Doin’ in There?!” A Bathroom Reader for Kids
- Who Was Albert Einstein?
