Friday, but no poetry - only news!

I just had to preempt our usual Poetry Friday for this bit of news. We now have a Children's Laureate! The first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and many other popular books for kids. The post, a two-year term, was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature in literacy, education, and the enrichment of children’s lives. It was awarded by the Children's Book Council and the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book.

Scieszka's response? “I’m honored that people would think of me, especially since I had a book with ‘stinky’ in the title.”


He went on to say: “My plan is to really help people identify kids who are reluctant readers and provide concrete things for them to do,” says Scieszka. “People don’t realize the great stuff we have out there. We just have to find a way to get it to them.”

Thanks to the School Library Journal blog for the quotes.

Reserve any of Scieszka's books here.