Jon Scieszka

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Jon Scieszka (SHEH-ska: which means "path'" in Polish) was born September 8, 1954 in Flint, Michigan is a Polish-American author of children's literature, best known for his collaborations with illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and in early 2008 was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Librarian of Congress.[1][2]

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[edit] Personal life

Scieszka is the second oldest of five sons born to his mother, Shirly Scieszka, a Registered Nurse, and his father, Louis Scieszka, an elementary school principal. He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana, graduating in three years, and then began to study medicine at Albion College[citation needed]. He eventually received a B.A. in writing in 1976; he turned down an acceptance to Johns Hopkins Medical School, opting instead to enroll in Columbia University's writing program, where he received a Master of Fine Arts in 1980.

After graduating, Scieszka worked in a variety of capacities: teaching at an elementary school (mostly second grade), 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.


[edit] 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 Fairly Stupid Tales, 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.

[edit] Works

Scieszka has written and edited a number of books for various publishers.

[edit] 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

[edit] Collaborations with Lane Smith

[edit] 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

[edit] As editor

[edit] References

  1. ^ "US Children's Literature Gets National Ambassador"VOA News
  2. ^ "National Ambassador for Young People's Literature" Children's Book Council

[edit] External links