Most Popular Books by Jon Scieszka

Science in verse from evolution to the food chain to skeletal study and more.

You thought you knew the story of the “The Three Little Pigs”… You thought wrong. In this Spanish translation of the hysterical and clever fracture fairy tale picture book that twists point of view and perspective, young readers will finally hear the other side of the story of “The Three Little Pigs.” “In this humorous story, Alexander T. Wolf tells his own outlandish version of what really happens during his encounter with the three pigs…. Smith''s simplistic and wacky illustrations add to the effectiveness of this fractured fairy tale.”—Children’s Literature Here, Scieszka''s text is clever, savvy, and tabloid-quick, and Smith''s stretchy-strange illustrations complete this funny, irreverent, thoroughly original tale."--Amazon.com

It all started when I told my friend Art I would meet him on the corner of Fifth and Fifty-Third. I didn''t see him. So I asked a lady walking up the avenue, ''Have you seen Art?'' ''MoMA?'' asked the lady. ''Just down Fifty-Third Street here.'' When this address turns out to be the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, confusion and hilarity ensue. As the narrator continues looking for Art inside MoMA, he views the best pieces of modern art.

Be afraid, be very afraid of Terrifying Tales, the sixth volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading. Eleven masters of suspense—Kelly Barnhill, Michael Buckley, Adam Gidwitz, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown, Claire Legrand, Nikki Loftin, Daniel José Older, Dav Pilkey, R.L. Stine, and Rita Williams-Garcia—have come together to bring you a bone-chilling collection of original ghost stories with illustrations by Gris Grimly, perfect for sharing around the campfire, reading under the covers with a flashlight, and scaring your friends’ pants off. Compiled and edited by kid-lit madman Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Terrifying Tales is a creepy-fun read (if you’re brave enough, that is).

Sure we''d all love to be able to go around telling stories about all the weird, scary, and just-plain-annoying people that we know. But the truth is, no one likes a gossip. Here, the irrepressible Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith have found a way around that problem-they just make like Aesop and change all the people to animals or food, add a moral to each story, and call the stories fables! With tales like "Little Walrus," in which too much of the truth is a dangerous thing, the cautionary "Slug''s Big Moment," wherein Slug is so caught up in herself that she doesn''t see the steamroller behind her, and "Straw and Matches," which illustrates quite clearly why you should never play with matches (because they cheat), the eighteen fables in this uproarious collection are sure to delight readers both young and old.

Izzy the ice-cream truck is doing everything he can think of to make himself dizzy, but nothing seems to be working as well as he’d like. Among other attempts, Izzy goes through the car wash, gets covered in suds, and spins himself in circles. In all his efforts, he gets in a tizzy, feels whizzy and fizzy…but is Izzy ever dizzy? Young readers will love this tongue-twisting, rhyming text—and many of the words in the book can be found on road signs, making it easy and fun for kids to apply their knowledge!

The Sports Pages, the third volume in Jon Scieszka''s Guys Read Library of Great Reading, features ten short stories guaranteed to put you in the ring, under the basket, and right behind home plate. From fiction to nonfiction, from baseball to mixed martial arts and everything in between, these are a collection of stories about the rush of victory and the crush of defeat on and off the field. Authors include Dustin Brown, James Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Chris Crutcher, Tim Green, Dan Gutman, Gordon Korman, Chris Rylander, Anne Ursu, and Jacqueline Woodson, with illustrations by Dan Santat.

Freddi, Jodie, and Samantha travel back in time to the 1930''s to visit Amelia Earhart. Includes a brief biography of Amelia Earhart.

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles! The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

Joe’s got a problem. He has to write to an author for a school assignment and get her to answer a bunch of questions. But the author he’s chosen, Maureen O’Toople, just doesn’t want to play along. Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo collaborate on a hilarious and heartfelt short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Melvin is baffled by who gave him a valentine. Can he figure out who it is when Rita beeps her way onto his radar?

The twisted team that gave the world Squids Will Be Squids and The Stinky Cheese Man now delivers a whole lot of Baloney. Henry P. Baloney. Henry is an alien schoolkid who needs to come up with one very good excuse to explain why he is late for szkola, again. Otherwise, his teacher Miss Bugscuffle promises, it''s Permanent Lifelong Detention. Henry''s tall tale of his lost zimulis-received from deep space by Jon Scieszka-is told in at least twenty different Earth languages and graphically recreated in Lane Smith''s out-of-this-world illustrations. The unbelievable trip into Henry''s wild universe may be the most original excuse ever for being late for szkola. Or it might just be Baloney. Henry P. Baloney.

This laugh-out-loud, visually groundbreaking read launches a major new series by children''s literature legend Jon Scieszka. Featuring full-color illustrations throughout, a spectacular gatefold, plus how-to-draw pages in the back, it''s an outer space adventure that demonstrates a giant leap for bookmaking and a giant leap for any kid looking for their next go-to series. AstroWolf, LaserShark, SmartHawk, and StinkBug are animals that have been hybridized to find other planets for humans to live on once we''ve ruined Earth. So off they rocket to the Plant Planet! Will that planet support human life? Or do Plant Planet''s inhabitants have a more sinister plan? AstroNuts Mission One is a can''t-put-it-down page-turner for reluctant readers and fans ready to blast past Wimpy Kid.

A body on the tracks A teenage terrorist A mysterious wish-granting machine The world’s worst private detective The second volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading is chock-full of mystery, intrigue, and nefarious activity. Featuring some of the best writers around, and compiled by certified guy Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Thriller is a pulse-pounding collection of brand-new short stories, each one guaranteed to keep you riveted until the final page.

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles! The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

From the minds of Scieszka and Shannon comes a tale of a quixotic robot determined to conquer the earth. The only problem is that the earth he lands on is a suburban kitchen and he is three inches tall. Robot Zot, the fearless and unstoppable warrior, leaves a trail of destruction as he encounters blenders, toasters, and televisions. But when he discovers the princess...a pink cell phone...his mission takes a new course. Robot Zot must learn how to be a hero - in the name of true love.

After being warped back to ancient China, Joe, Fred, and Anna are faced with some big tasks. They must rescue General Li Shimin from prison so he can defeat the awful ruler, Wang. Then they must figure out how to free Sam, who is trapped in . . . The Book. Join the Time Warp Trio as they learn kung fu, scale the Great Wall of China, and learn to stop time itself!

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles! The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

After a marshmallow mix-up, Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha find themselves back in 1805 on an adventure with the famous Lewis and Clark explorers! Along the way, they meet Sacagawea, a seventeen-year-old Shoshone girl, and learn the ropes of wilderness travel. The girls must retrieve The Book from a wild bear, but in order to do so, they have to travel along with Lewis and Clark and face the dangers that come with discovering America.

Jack isn’t like the Pagoda brothers. He knows the difference between fun and stupid. Launching yourself across the backyard in a makeshift Roman catapult? Fun. Smoking an entire pack of cigarettes as fast as possible? Stupid. But when it comes to emergency self-surgery…Jack still has something to learn. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

When Alexander Wolf is framed, he seeks justice and tells his own version of The Three Little Pigs.

While on a sleepover, Joe and Sam come face-to-face with Frankenstein''s monster, and must use their time-warping power to take him back to his nineteenth-century creator.

Will’s got it rough. He’s practically the only kid in school who hasn’t found out that he’s a wizard or a vampire or the child of a Norse god. But when a supervillain takes over the school and all the kids with powers are gone, it’s up to Will to try and save the day. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Kids. They think they got it so rough these days. But nobody has it worse than Papa Red did when he was a kid. And you better listen up when he talks. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Michael K. just started fifth grade at a new school. As if that wasn’t hard enough, the kids he seems to have made friends with apparently aren’t kids at all. They are aliens. Real aliens, who have invaded our planet disguised as school children and a hamster. They have a mission to complete: to convince 3,400,001 kids to BE SPHDZ in order to save the world! But with a hamster as their leader, "kids" who talk like walking advertisements, and Michael K. as their first convert, will the SPHDZ be able to keep their cover and pull off their assignment? Several websites mentioned in the book will be live…giving readers a full interactive experience.

Melvin has a flat tire and needs a new one. He rolls into a spooky junkyard and finds just what he needs: a golden! But what happens when a junkyard ghost wants it back?

Tales, rowdy rhymes, and honk-along songs all about trucks.

A contemporary classic celebrates its 25th birthday. Twenty-five years in the Big House and A. Wolf is still sticking to his story: he was framed! As for that huffing and puffing stuff? A big lie. A. Wolf was just trying to borrow a cup of sugar to make his poor old granny a birthday cake. Who should you believe, the pigs or the wolf? You read. You decide. A quarter-century after publication, with over two million copies sold, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs remains as funny and irreverent as the inventive minds of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Viking is celebrating this landmark anniversary with a handsome gift edition, featuring a stunning new jacket with lots of silver. And there''s a surprise inside as well!

Jon Scieszka''s Guys Read anthology series for tweens turns to nonfiction in its fifth volume, True Stories. 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, all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Compiled and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a mind-blowing collection of essays, biographies, how-to guides, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there. Supports the Common Core State Standards

Funny Business, the first volume in Jon Scieszka''s Guys Read Library of Great Reading, features ten short stories guaranteed to delight, amuse, and possibly make you spit your milk in your friend''s face. 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 is 100% grade-A humor, guaranteed to have kids of all ages asking for more. Authors include Mac Barnett, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo & Jon Scieszka, Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Adam Rex, and David Yoo, with illustrations by Adam Rex.

Long before Artemis Fowl appeared in Eoin Colfer’s hit series, he was born in the form of Eoin’s younger brother Donal--the “young criminal mastermind” of the family. And on one particular spring day, he concocts his most sinister plot yet. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Great elementary grades reading.

Presents a memoir of what it was like to grow up in the 1950s and other almost true stories by American children''s author Jon Scieszka.

Three young boys find themselves on a deserted island after opening The Book, a gift from Uncle Joe, a magician.-

A madcap variation of the cumulative nursery rhyme, this time beginning when Jack writes a book.