Getting to Know Jon Scieszka

This delightful portrait of children's book author Jon Scieszka begins with Scieszka's visit with a group of second-grade kids at a library (where he pretends to be a guy named “Bob” introducing the real writer). The author of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairytales, Scieszka—a certificated teacher—is an entertaining and committed force for the promotion of reading and education for today's youngsters. Here he weighs in on the difficulty of getting boys to read (his solution: offer more male voices in book selections, e.g., as with Roald Dahl) and the challenges of making math and science fun. Scieszka also talks about his life growing up in Flint, MI, with five brothers and how he shifted gears as a developing adult fiction author to writing children's books, all based on his experiences in the classroom. Scieszka makes fun of himself for not doing anything visually interesting when he's writing at a keyboard, and he's remarkably frank about raising a son who, he believes, has never actually read one of his books. Including a read-along option and a bonus featurette with comments from some of Scieszka's friends, this fine portrait of a beloved children's author is highly recommended. Aud: E, P. (T. Keogh)