Guys Read: Heroes & Villains

Jon Scieszka is the National Ambassador for Children's Literature emeritus and the bestselling author of more than twenty-five books for kids, including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Math Curse, Robot Zot!, and the Time Warp Trio series. Jon founded Guys Read to encourage a passion for reading among young boys, with the philosophy that boys love to read most when they are reading things they love. A former elementary school teacher, Jon lives in Brooklyn with his family. For more great books, more great facts, and more about your favorite authors, head over to www.guysread.com. You'll be glad you did.Christopher Healy is the author of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, as well as its two sequels, The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle and The Hero’s Guide to Being an Outlaw. Before becoming a writer, he worked as an actor, an ad copywriter, a toy store display designer, a fact-checker, a dishwasher, a journalist, a costume shop clothing stitcher, a children’s entertainment reviewer, and a haunted house zombie. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and a dog named Duncan. You can visit him online at www.christopherhealy.com.Sharon Creech has written twenty-one books for young people and is published in over twenty languages. Her books have received awards in both the U.S. and abroad, including the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor for The Wanderer, and Great Britain’s Carnegie Medal for Ruby Holler.Before beginning her writing career, Sharon Creech taught English for fifteen years in England and Switzerland. She and her husband now live in Maine, “lured there by our grandchildren,” Creech says.www.sharoncreech.comDeborah Hopkinson is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen, illustrated by Qin Leng; Michelle, illustrated by AG Ford; Stagecoach Sal, illustrated by Carson Ellis; Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, illustrated by John Hendrix; Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, illustrated by James Ransome and winner of the IRA Award; and Apples to Oregon, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter and winner of the Golden Kite Award. She lives near Portland, Oregon.Eugene Yelchin grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he trained as an artist and designed sets and costumes for the theater and ballet. His artwork has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and advertisements. He even drew the first polar bears used in the Coca-Cola commercials. He has also written and illustrated many children’s books. His first novel, Breaking Stalin’s Nose, received a Newbery Honor and was named one of the best books of 2011 by The Horn Book, and his novel The Haunting of Falcon House was a Golden Kite Award winner.Jack Gantos is the celebrated author of Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor Book. He is also the author of the popular picture books about Rotten Ralph, and Jack's Black Book, the latest in his acclaimed series of semi-autobiographical story collections featuring his alter ego, Jack Henry. Mr. Gantos lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.Lemony Snicket had an unusual education which may or may not explain his ability to evade capture. He is the author of the 13 volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events, several picture books including The Dark, and the books collectively titled All The Wrong Questions.