Jon Scieszka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jon Scieszka
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Scieszka in 2008
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| Born | September 8, 1954 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | Albion College Columbia University |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Notable awards | National Ambassador for Young People's Literature 2008–2009 |
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Jon Scieszka (born September 8, 1954) is a famous American writer of children's books. He is especially known for the fun picture books he created with the illustrator Lane Smith. Jon Scieszka is also a big supporter of reading across the country. He started Guys Read, which is a website and program that helps boys become excited about reading for life.
Scieszka was chosen as the very first U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This important job was given to him by the Librarian of Congress for 2008 and 2009. His popular book series, Time Warp Trio, which teaches kids about history, was even turned into a television show!
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About Jon Scieszka's Life
Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 8, 1954. He was the second oldest of six brothers. His mom was a nurse, and his dad was an elementary school principal.
He went to high school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana. Later, he studied English and medical science at Albion College in Michigan. He earned his degree in 1979. Then, he went to Columbia University in New York City and got a special degree in writing fiction in 1980.
After college, Scieszka worked in different jobs. He taught at an elementary school, mostly second grade. He also wrote for magazines and even painted apartments. Today, he lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his wife and children.
Jon Scieszka's Writing Career
While studying in New York, Jon Scieszka taught students from first to eighth grade for ten years. After that, he started writing books and traveling to talk about them full-time. He still does this today.
Jon Scieszka says he writes books because he "loves to make kids laugh." Many of his most famous books were created with illustrator Lane Smith. Some of their popular books include The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, and Math Curse.
He also wrote the Time Warp Trio series. Lane Smith illustrated eight of the sixteen books in this series. As you know, this series was also made into a TV show!
Helping Boys Love Reading
Jon Scieszka is the founder of Guys Read. This is a special program that helps boys become excited about reading. He started it because he noticed that boys often scored lower than girls on reading tests. He wanted to make sure boys found books they loved.
As part of Guys Read, Scieszka travels to schools and libraries. He talks about how important it is for kids to choose their own books. He also encourages them to think about all kinds of reading, like comics and online stories.
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
In 2008, Jon Scieszka became the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This was a very important job! For two years, his main goal was to help everyone understand how important reading is for young people. He wanted to show how reading helps kids learn, grow, and have better lives.
During his time as Ambassador, he visited many schools, libraries, and book events. He talked about how to get kids interested in reading. He focused on letting kids choose what they read, using new technologies, and having good reading role models. He even joked that being an ambassador helped him avoid parking tickets!
Jon Scieszka's Books
Jon Scieszka has written and edited many books for different publishers. Here are some of his well-known works:
Picture Books
- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1989
- The Frog Prince, Continued, illustrated by Steven Johnson - 1991
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1992
- Math Curse, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1995
- Squids Will Be Squids, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1998
- Baloney, (Henry P.), illustrated by Lane Smith - 2001
- Science Verse, illustrated by Lane Smith - 2004
- Robot Zot, illustrated by David Shannon - 2009
Book Series
The Time Warp Trio
The Time Warp Trio books are exciting novels for middle schoolers. They are about three boys named Sam, Joe, and Fred. They travel through time and space using a magical book! The first books were illustrated by Lane Smith, and later ones by Adam McCauley.
- Knights of the Kitchen Table, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1991
- The Not-So-Jolly Roger, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1991
- The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1992
- Your Mother Was a Neanderthal, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1993
- 2095, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1995
- Tut, Tut, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1996
- Summer Reading Is Killing Me!, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1998
- It's All Greek to Me, illustrated by Lane Smith - 1999
- See You Later, Gladiator, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2000
- Sam Samurai, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2001
- Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge?, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2001
- Viking It and Liking It, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2002
- Me Oh Maya!, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2003
- Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2004
- Oh Say, I Can't See, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2005
- Marco? Polo!, illustrated by Adam McCauley - 2005
Trucktown
Scieszka created the Trucktown series because he wanted to write books for "crazy little guys who didn’t think there was something out there for them to read." The characters and settings for Trucktown were created by David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon. This series has over fifty books, including picture books and early reader books.
A TV show based on Trucktown also premiered in Canada in 2014.
- Smash! Crash! - 2008
- Melvin Might? - 2008
- Truckery Rhymes - 2009
Spaceheadz
Spaceheadz is a unique story told across many platforms. It includes four books, websites, blogs, social media, and videos. The story is about three aliens from the planet Spaceheadz. They pretend to be 5th graders in Brooklyn. Their mission is to get over 3 million Earthlings to join Spaceheadz to save Earth!
The books are illustrated by DreamWorks animator Shane Prigmore.
- Spaceheadz Book #1! - 2010
- Spaceheadz Book #2! - 2010
- Spaceheadz Book #3! - 2011
- Spaceheadz Book #4! - 2013
Frank Einstein
The Frank Einstein books are illustrated novels for middle schoolers. They are about a super smart kid-genius scientist and inventor named Frank Einstein.
- Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor - 2014
- Frank Einstein and the Electro-Finger - 2015
- Frank Einstein and the BrainTurbo - 2015
- Frank Einstein and the EvoBlaster Belt - 2016
- Frank Einstein and the Bio-Action Gizmo - 2017
- Frank Einstein and the Space-Time Zipper - 2018
Other Books
- Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories of Growing Up, (a memoir about his childhood) - 2008
- He has also contributed to and edited many Guys Read anthologies, which are collections of stories by different authors.
Awards and Recognition
Jon Scieszka has received many awards for his amazing books.
- He was the first U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature from 2008 to 2009.
- In 2013, he received the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. This award honors a writer's lifetime contributions to children's literature.
Two of his picture books, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man, were named among the top 100 best picture books of all time in a 2012 survey by School Library Journal.
His books have also won many other awards, including:
- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! received awards from The New York Times Book Review and the American Library Association in 1989.
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales won awards from The New York Times Book Review, School Library Journal, and the American Library Association in 1992.
- Math Curse was recognized as a Best Children's Book by Publishers Weekly in 1995 and received the Texas Bluebonnet Award in 1997.
- Baloney, (Henry P.) was named a Best Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times Book Review in 2001.
- Science Verse won a Gold Parent's Choice Award in 2004.
- Robot Zot was an Honor Book for the Irma S. Black Award in 2009.
How He Writes
In his autobiography, Knucklehead, Jon Scieszka shares that many of his ideas come from the "strange things" that happened when he was growing up with his five brothers.
When he writes his Time Warp Trio books, he likes to make outlines to keep the story organized. But for his other books, he says, "Anything goes." He might start with the middle, the end, the title, or even a funny punchline!
