Guys Read
A lot of boys aren't too crazy about reading.
I grew up with five brothers. I taught elementary school for ten years. I've been writing books for kids for over thirty years. And I've been thinking a lot about why boys might not like reading.
Boys often have to read books they don't really like. They don't get to choose what they want to read. And what they do like to read, people often tell them is not really reading.
We can help boys read by:
Letting them choose what they read.
Expanding our definition of "reading" to include:
nonfiction
graphic novels, comics, comic strips
humor
magazines, newspapers, online text
Getting boys to recommend reading they do like to other boys.
Providing boys with male role models for reading in school and at home.
The Guys Read series is made to help with all of these things.
So go choose something to read from all the different kinds of reading and tell some other guys about it.
Guys Read Library of Great Reading
7 Volumes of Original Short Stories
Guys Read, Volume 1: Funny Business
Illustrated by Adam Rex, 2010
There's something for everyone in this collection of short stories from some of the funniest writers around. This hilarious, offbeat first installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading is 100% grade-A humor, guaranteed to have kids of all ages asking for more.
Guys Read, Volume 2: Thriller
Illustrated by Brett Helquist, 2011
A body on the track.
A teenage terrorist.
A mysterious wish-granting machine.
The world’s worst private detective.
Volume Two in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading is chock-full of mystery, intrigue, and nefarious activity. Featuring some of the most thrilling writers around. Compiled by certified guy Jon Scieszka. Guys Read: Thriller is a pulse-pounding collection of stories that will keep you riveted until the very last page.
Guys Read, Volume 3: The Sports Pages
Illustrated by Dan Santat, 2012
This third volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading will put you in the ring, under the basket, in the end zone, right behind home plate, and in the back of the net in seventh game Stanley Cup triple sudden-death overtime.
From fiction to nonfiction, from baseball to mixed martial arts and everything in between, this is a powerhouse collection of stories about the rush of victory and the crush of defeat on and off the field.
Guys Read, Volume 4: Other Worlds
Illustrated by Greg Ruth, 2013
Other Worlds features thrilling new tales of science fiction and fantasy from some of the most otherworldly authors in children’s literature.
Prepare yourself for ten trips into the unknown, as a pod of your favorite writers spin tales of fantasy and science fiction that will expand your universe, and your mind.
Compiled by National Ambassador for Children’s Literature (and Secret Ambassador for the Intergalactic Alliance) Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Other Worlds is sure to boldly take you where no reader has gone before.
Guys Read, Volume 5: True Stories
Illustrated by Brian Floca, 2014
The fifth installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading features ten stories that are 100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable—and 100% true.
A star-studded group of award-winning nonfiction authors and journalists provides something for every reader. Commissioned and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a brain-bending collection of essays, biographies, how-to guides, and exposes. All proving that the truth is stranger than fiction.
Guys Read, Volume 6: Terrifying Tales
Illustrated by Gris Grimly, 2015
Be afraid, be very afraid of the sixth volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading.
Eleven masters of suspense conjure up bone-chilling tales, with equally terrifying illustrations by Gris Grimly. Perfect for sharing around the campfire, reading under the covers with a flashlight, and scaring your friends’ pants off.
Hunted down and edited by kid-lit madman Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Terrifying Tales is a creepy-fun read . . . if you are brave enough.
Guys Read, Volume 7: Heroes & Villains
Illustrated by Jeff Stokely, 2017
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s . . . Heroes and Villains, the seventh volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading. Ten all-new adventure tales featuring bigger-than-life characters—with and without capes.
From fantasy to comics to contemporary adventure to nonfiction, and featuring ten of the most super-powered writers working today, this collection is the perfect book for you, whether you use your powers for good—or evil.
And - The Guys Read Writing Collection That Started It All
Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys' Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys
2008
The subtitle says it all – here is a whole pile of phenomenal authors writing and illustrating bits about what it was like for them to grow up as boys.
A bunch of guys you might know. Like Daniel Handler, and Dav Pilkey, and Andy Griffiths, and Stephen King, and Jack Gantos, and Matt Groening, and Dave Shannon, and Walter Dean Myers, and Neil Gaiman, and Jerry Pinkney, and Gary Paulsen, and Mo Willems. And a few guys you might not yet know. All passing along a bit of wisdom, and maybe a gag or two or three, about being a boy.
Includes an all-new foreword by Jon Scieszka, and an excerpt from Knucklehead.