Monday, January 04, 2010

THANK YOU, JON SCIESZKA!

On January 3, 2008, the Library of Congress named Jon Scieszka "Inaugural National Ambassador for Young People's Literature". The world of children's literature could not have been happier! Jon Scieszka took his role seriously from the first minute and made a huge impact on children's reading. Jon Scieszka (See here for the official pronunciation of his name) had already been an unofficial ambassador. His work has been influential and important for as long as I can remember. (If you have not had a chance to read his latest article reflecting on his term, it sums up so much of what he believes and so much of why he was the perfect inaugural Ambassador!) As the Library of Congress gets ready to announce the next Ambassador, The Kidlitosphere wants to take this opportunity to thank Jon Scieszka for all that he has done over the last two years.
We have always been fans of Jon Scieszka and his work. We met Jon Scieszka years and years ago when he spoke at one of our first Dublin Literacy Conferences. You can see in the photo that I am much younger. This was probably 18 years ago as that is my 19 year old daughter that I am holding. Jon Scieszka was a featured author after the publication of his great book, The True Story of the Three Pigs. We have been huge fans every since. From GuysRead to Knucklehead to Trucktown, Jon Scieszka continues to make an impact on children and reading in all that he does. Join us in celebrating Jon Scieszka's work! Thank you Jon Scieszka!
** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** **
THE KIDLITOSPHERE SAYS, THANK YOU, JON SCIESZKA!!
Sara at Read Write Believe says There Should Be Laughter.
Mary at Writing a Book takes time out from all things Maasai to say Thank You!
Wendie at Wendie's Wanderings appreciates Scieszka's representation of all children's book writers.
Corinne at Paper Tigers shares Scieszka's reflections on his term along with her words of appreciation.
Kristine at bestbookihavenotread declares Scieszka to be Ambassador Extraordinaire!
Mary Ann at Great Kid Books proposes a toast to Jon Scieszka...with Fresca, of course!
Monica at educating alice thanks Scieszka with a whole LIST of great qualities.
Candace at BookBookerBookest teaches us (with lessons and a poem) to spell Scieszka.
Stacy at Welcome to My Tweendom thanks Scieszka for writing for ALL ages.
Kevin at Kevin's Meandering Mind thanks Scieszka for making reading and writing FUN!
Stella at My World-Mi Mundo says GRACIAS to Scieszka and takes us down the "path" of his life as a teacher and writer.
Travis at 100 Scope Notes shares his Scieszka tribute, not surprisingly, as a comic.
Greg at GottaBook cheers for the first ambassador with a reissue of Scieszka's poem for GottaBook's 30 Poets/30 Days project last April.
Laura at laurasalas: Writing the World for Kids has a surprising (but appropriate) thank you for Scieszka!
Tanya at books4yourkids.com shares a round of applause for Scieszka from the parent perspective.
Reading Tub at Scrub-a-Dub-Tub is one of Scieszka's most recent and enthusiastic fans.
Jeanne at Teaching Authors offers Scieszka multiple blessings.
Betsy at A Fuse #8 Production celebrates Scieszka, not surprisingly, with videos!
At Booklights, Jen Robinson reminds us of so many of Jon Scieszka's great books and accomplishments!
Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect highlights two key Scieszka books in her tribute.
Boni at Life On the Bookshelf attributes her desire to write children's books to one of Jon Scieszka's books!
Abby at Abby (the) Librarian can't imagine a better choice for First Ambassador than Jon Scieszka.
Jules at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a fabulous caricature of Sciezka and great memories from his 2007 interview at 7-Imp.
Tasha at Kids Lit keeps Scieszka books in her "never fail" pile.
Jarrett at the JJK Blog has a fabulous story about how Jon Scieszka came to be on his Book by Book video.
Patrick at All-en-A-Day's Work elaborates on the word AMBASSADOR and finds that Scieszka is "all that" and more.
MotherReader feels like she KNOWS Jon Scieszka.
Marge at Tiny Tips for Library Fun sends her PROPSZ to Jon Scieszka.
Brimful Curiosities shares family stories of love for Scieszka's books.
Kathy at forwordsbooks finds Jewish values in Scieszka's very secular books. There is even a fabulous connection to the Torah today!
Elizabeth at Elizabeth O. Dulemba shares her favorite Scieszka book.
Teaching Heart Mom puts The True Story of the Three Little Pigs at the top of her list of 10 Favorite Children's Books.
Madigan at Madigan Reads remembers hearing Scieszka speak at the 2009 L.A. Festival of Books.
a. fortis at Finding Wonderland speculates about Jon Scieszka's shoe size...since they'll be big ones to fill!
Carl at Boys Rule! Boys Read! chooses Knucklehead as his favorite JS book.
Karen at Literate Lives thanks Jon Scieszka for writing stories that boys can SO relate to (I agree with her about the "sword fight" chapter in Knucklehead!)
Kelly at Writing and Ruminating has a great thank you to the" all-around good guy" that he is. Liz at Liz in Ink thanks Jon for bringing both humor and seriousness to the role of National Ambassador.
Sarah at The Reading Zone can relate to Scieszka's experiences growing up since she was the oldest of 6!
4IQRead adds her thanks to the list.
GreenBeanTeenQueen remembers meeting Scieszka at ALA last June.
kristydempsey once shared the stage with Jon Scieszka.
Matthew Holm says Thanks!
Shelly at Two Learning Journeys is thankful for the Guys Read website.
Brianna at The Paper Wait is inspired by Scieszka's writing.
Carol at Carol's Corner has an AMAZING poetic tribute to Ambassador Scieszka.

36 comments:

  1. I'm in! http://medinger.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/thank-you-jon-scieszka/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Mary Lee and Franki, for doing this! Here's my post, "How to Spell 'SCIESZKA:'"

    http://tinyurl.com/ybalu89

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rhymes with Fresca! http://tweendom.blogspot.com/2010/01/rhymes-with-fresca.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. I added mine this morning.
    Kevin

    http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2010/01/04/honoring-jon-scieszka/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mine is up and ready! Thanks Mary Lee and Franki!

    http://learnlovegrow.blogspot.com/2010/01/thank-you-gracias-merci-mr-jon-scieszka.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:32 AM

    Thanks for coming up with this! I have a comic strip tribute at 100 Scope Notes http://100scopenotes.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/heres-to-the-ambassador/

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm in, Mary Lee--

    http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/192125.html

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks so much for doing this!
    Here's ours:

    http://www.teachingauthors.com/2010/01/prospero-ano-y-felicidad.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm in with thoughts on my two favorite books.
    http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2010/01/thank-you-jon-scieszka.html

    Thanks for spearheading this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for doing this- such a terrific idea. I posted too (and now I need to go read all these others- what fun!)

    http://boniashburn.com/blog/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mine's up! Thanks for the round-up. What a great tribute!

    http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/01/so-jon-scieszka.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm in, too!

    http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1865

    Thanks for doing this and for your great post. Look at that pic!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Here's mine!

    http://kidslit.menashalibrary.org/2010/01/04/bravo-jon-scieszka/

    Tasha

    ReplyDelete
  14. Fantastic idea! I wrote about Jon's involvement with my Book by Book video - http://thejjkblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/all-hail-jon-sciezka.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks to you both... I've written about him at: http://all-en-a-days-work.blogspot.com/2010/01/thank-you-john-scieszka.html

    Thanks for keeping all of us connected!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm all in: http://www.motherreader.com/2010/01/shout-out-for-scieszka.html

    (When will I ever learn to write these important posts in advance?)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mary Lee and Franki - Thanks so much for taking the time to organize this! I sent a link to your blog to Meghan Newton, Mr Scieszka's publicist over at Goodman Media. Maybe he'll catch wind of the festivities!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Jon!
    http://tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  19. Here's a link to my post:
    http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com/2010/01/celebrating-jon-scieszka-stinky-cheese.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you so much for doing this. At last, forwordsbooks is in. Here is my link. http://forwordsbooks.com/538/

    Kathy B.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am in... Thanks, great blog!
    http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/do-you-know-true-story-of-three-little.html

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fantastic! I've got my memories of seeing him speak at the 2009 L.A. Festival of Books up at:

    http://madiganreads.blogspot.com/2010/01/farewell-ambassador-scieszka.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks so much for doing this, and for including my post.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fabulous job, Franki and Mary Lee!! Finding Wonderland is in with "Celebrate the Old, Ring in the New": http://writingya.blogspot.com/2010/01/celebrate-old-ring-in-new.html

    ReplyDelete
  25. We at Boys Rule! Boys Read are in too!

    http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com/2010/01/all-hail-king-of-guy-reading.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a wonderful idea! Sorry I'm so late getting our post in.

    http://literatelives.blogspot.com/2010/01/celebrating-jon-scieszka.html

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous4:56 PM

    I'm in -- better late than never!

    http://liz-scanlon.livejournal.com/138094.html

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous5:24 PM

    I absolutely loved "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs", and bought my kids a copy when it was first published in 1989. I still love this book!!! I also greatly appreciate the quality and variety of books this talented author has written since, and his dedication to the promotion of reading and literacy.

    Thanks Mr. Scieszka for being a wonderful "Ambassador of Reading".

    I've posted on my blog, 4IQREAD
    http://kbookwoman.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7:10 PM

    I'm in!

    http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/celebrating-jon-scieszka/

    -Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  30. Lovely post. I really really wanted to get one done but I was lucky to get the Nonfiction Monday completed. I did a shout out on FB.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Are you kidding me?
    I'm laughing. I'm crying. I'm crossing swords.

    I'm in my hotel room in DC, getting ready to hand over the Ambassador Orb to the ever-amazing Katherine Paterson tomorrow morning . . . when a friend clues me in to this Scieszka-Palooza going on at A Year of Reading.

    I am stunned with gratitude. This is exactly why I love our world of kids' books – the amazing bunch of people in it.

    You all made my job easy. Thanks for your support, your thanks, and your craziness.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm in with a little poem. Thanks for organizing this Franki and Mary Lee!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yay! Thanks so much for gathering this.
    And thank you Jon!
    :)
    e

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous5:45 PM

    Love the picture of both of you!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Can you believe that he stopped by our blog to say thank you? How amazing is that? Especially, since I'm guessing he's doing the same thing with everyone who linked to you guys. What a good guy!

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.