Readers > Every Family Reads 2009 > About the Author
About the Author
Jon Scieszka was born in Flint MI in 1954. His last name is Polish – it means “path” and rhymes with “Fresca.” Scieszka studied Science and English at Albion College in Michigan, and got his MFA from Columbia University in New York in 1980. But it wasn’t until he got a job teaching elementary school that he found an audience for his weird, wacky stories- his own students! They loved them, but publishers rejected them.
When he teamed up with illustrator Lane Smith, they created an illustrated manuscript The True Story of Three Little Pigs!, which became their first picture book. It sold 3 million copies and has been translated into 14 languages. The team of Scieszka and Smith has since collaborated on seven other picture books as well as the Time Warp Trio series.
Scieszka’s many books have won awards and sold over 11 million copies. Scieszka is also the founder of Guys Read, a nonprofit literacy organization. In 2008 the Library of Congress chose Jon Scieszka to be the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a two-year position in which Scieszka’s mission is to get kids excited about reading. In particular he hopes to reach reluctant readers. He says, “All reading is reading, whether it be non-fiction, graphic novels, or just plain silly books.” Scieszka currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife Jeri, a daughter Casey, and his son Jak
For more information about Jon Scieszka, visit his website.