9780670060078

There's Something for Every Guy in this rich collection of stories, minimemoirs, advice, poems, comics, and drawings. Chosen by readers on the Guys Read Web site, contributors include world-famous writers, illustrators, and editors of such boy-favorite publications as Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and The Onion. Here is an irresistibly readable book, filled with defining guy moments-funny, sad, triumphant, or humiliating.

Multiple award-winning author Jon Scieszka grew up in Flint, Michigan, the second oldest and the nicest of six boys. Jon went to school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana where he was a Lieutenant; Albion College in Michigan where he studied to be a doctor; and Columbia University in New York, where he got a M.F.A. in fi ction. He taught elementary school in New York for ten years in a variety of positions. In addition to his work as an author, Jon also runs a web-based literacy program called “Guys Read” that is designed to encourage boys, particularly reluctant readers, to get involved with books. Currently, he lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two kids.

Recently, Jon was named the country’s first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a joint effort of the Library of Congress and the Children’s Book Council. During his two-year role as Ambassador, he will act as a spokesperson for children’s literature, speaking to groups of parents, teachers, and children to encourage the importance of reading.

Foreword	p. 11
The Truth about the World	p. 13
My Maturity, in Flames	p. 15
Stone = Throw	p. 22
Superpatriot	p. 25
The Crossing	p. 28
Reading Can Be Dangerous	p. 30
My Entire Football Career	p. 33
Only a Game	p. 36
Gondwanaland	p. 38
E, A Minor, B7	p. 42
My Brilliant Invention	p. 45
A Real Guy	p. 48
My Life of Crime	p. 51
Triplets	p. 54
The Legend of Tripod	p. 58
"O" Foods	p. 61
What I'm Telling You Is the Truth	p. 65
The Rules	p. 69
Any Questions, Class?	p. 71
Guide for Guys	p. 72
Why Books Are Dangerous	p. 74
The Follower	p. 79
The Red Fire Engine	p. 84
There Must Be a Mistake	p. 86
Thwacked	p. 88
My Superpowers	p. 91
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad	p. 94
Let's Go to the Videotape	p. 100
Boys, Beer, Barf, and Bonding	p. 105
Shooting the Breeze	p. 108
Principals and Principles	p. 112
A Great, Big, Beautiful World	p. 114
My French Teacher Tried to Kill Me	p. 117
Learning How to Be a Boy	p. 119
Lightning Man	p. 122
A Casualty of War	p. 124
Wrestling with Reading	p. 127
from On Writing	p. 133
Pop	p. 135
Guy Things	p. 137
Role-Playing and Discovery	p. 141
Busted	p. 144
Copies	p. 146
When All Bicycles Were Black	p. 149
The Pellet in the Paint Can	p. 152
Unfinished Business	p. 156
Daydreams	p. 163
Lucky Dave	p. 166
Anything Can Happen	p. 169
No, David!	p. 174
Dead Body	p. 176
It All Began with Books	p. 180
from How Angel Peterson Got His Name	p. 183
The 1928 Packard	p. 185
Lone Ranger	p. 188
A Day at the Zoo	p. 192
Boys Are Big Experts	p. 195
"Funny You Should Ask" from The Life of Reilly	p. 196
The Death of a Writer	p. 202
Sweet Dreams	p. 204
Maybe Yeah, Maybe Nah	p. 207
Bufos	p. 209
Brothers	p. 214
Guyifesto-Who We Are!	p. 217
The Day I Threw the Trivia Bowl	p. 221
Bringing Up 'Saur Subjects	p. 224
Roy G. Biv	p. 228
The Hammer and the Bullet	p. 230
The Masque of the Red Death	p. 233
Reading and Relating	p. 236
The Dragon in the Big Glommy Castle	p. 238
Bombs, Girls	p. 240
Conduct	p. 243
The Fire Escape	p. 246
My First Step to the White House	p. 248
Give a Guy a Newspaper	p. 251
Eat Dirt	p. 254
Training the Bear	p. 256
Pals Forever: Me, Bobby Fisher, and the Hardy Boys	p. 259
Aw, Nuts!	p. 262
"Puzzle Pieces" from The Lost Garden	p. 264
Heartbeat	p. 266
I Was Young in the Old Days	p. 270
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Foreword

Hey guys—now here is something for you to read. A bunch of pieces by a bunch of guys . . . all about being a guy. Some are memories. Some are stories. Some are just pieces of art these guys drew when they were your age.

So look around in here for something you like. You don’t have to read in any order. You don’t have to like everything you read. You don’t even have to read everything. But you do have to complete the quiz at the end of each section, and write an essay on each about—

Just kidding.

That’s exactly what this collection is not. It is not required reading. It’s reading to find what you like. And I know you are going to find something in here, because these things are funny, action-packed, sad, goofy, gross, touching, stupid, true, and all very short.

Thanks to all of the guys who donated their thoughts about being a guy to this anthology. All the money from this work goes to support my nonprofit literacy program called Guys Read.

And it built the new Web site at www.guysread.com.