"Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys’ Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys" by Jon Scieszka

Scieszka, Jon. Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys’ Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys. New York: Viking, 2005. 272 pp. Print. ISBN 10: 0670011444

Summary:

More than 80 male writers and illustrators (many from the Young Adult literature world) contributed stories of their boyhoods to this collection of stories of what it means (in their eyes) to be male. Stories range from the emotionally moving to the humorous. Contributors include, among others, Walter Dean Myers, Dan Gutman, Chris Crutcher, Avi, Brian Jacques, Dav Pilkey, Stephen King, Daniel Pinkwater, Jerry Spinelli, Will Hobbs, Chris Van Allsburg, Laurence Yep, Jack Gantos, Eoin Colfer and Neil Gaiman. Each entry is very short, many are only one or two pages long, and each ends with a selected bibliography to help readers find more of the particular authors’ works (or favorites by other authors).

Review:

Although there are so many authors, illustrators and editors contributing to this collection, each vignette is short enough that this was a very quick read. The stories were enjoyable and seem to be just what most late middle school and high school boys would like to read – stories of nasty high school sports initiations, getting the best of a school bully or teacher by using one’s intelligence, how farting and burping is just a guy’s way of communicating, or how one finally made a connection with a parent he thought disapproved of him, among others. The brevity of the entries will encourage even the most reluctant of readers to persevere, while the sheer number and variety of stories will keep the most advanced readers entertained.

Despite its title, many girls will also enjoy the stories contained in the book. As the mother of a boy (and a female who isn’t always so feminine), I was able to relate to many of the situations the authors experienced and relate to their statements of what it means to be a guy. I’m sure many other females will, too.

Awards:

Junior Library Guild selection

Teaching Extensions:

Have students in lower level literature circles use this book for their group book, stopping after each short vignette to discuss.

Have students in class read this collection of stories as well as “Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul: Real Stories by Real Girls About Real Stuff (Chicken Soup for the Soul)” edited by Jack Canfield. Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap. Have students compare and contrast what the stories seem to be saying about “maleness” and “femaleness”.  Are there similarities? Are there differences? Lead students in a discussion about societal norms ascribed to gender and how these two books (if at all) contribute to those norms.

References:

Canfield, Jack, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen, and Irene Dunlap. Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul: Real Stories by Real Girls About Real Stuff. Deerfield Beach, Fla.: Health Communications, 2005. 350 pp. Print.

Scieszka, Jon. Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys’ Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys. New York: Viking, 2005. 272 pp. Print.