Guys Read: Funny Business [Kindle Edition]

Jon Scieszka (Author)

Book Description

It’s here: Volume One of the official Guys Read Library. Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read initiative was founded on a simple premise: that young guys enjoy reading most when they have reading they can enjoy. And out of this comes a series that aims to give them just that. Ten books, arranged by theme, featuring the best of the best where writing for kids is concerned. Each book is a collection of original short stories, but these aren’t your typical anthologies—each book is edgy, inventive, visual, and one-of-a-kind, featuring a different theme for guys to get excited about.

Funny Business is based around the theme of—what else?—humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: ten hilarious stories from some of the funniest writers around. Before you’re through, you’ll meet a teenage mummy; a kid desperate to take a dip in the world’s largest pool of chocolate milk; a homicidal turkey; parents who hand over their son’s room to a biker; the only kid in his middle school who hasn’t turned into a vampire, wizard, or superhero; and more. And the contributor list includes bestselling author, award winners, and fresh new talent alike: Mac Barnett, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo (writing with Jon Scieszka), Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Adam Rex, and David Yoo.

Guys Read is all about turning young readers into lifelong ones—and with this book, and each subsequent installment in the series, we aim to leave no guy unturned.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8–Building on the success of Guys Write for Guys Read (Viking, 2005), Scieszka continues his mission to take the “reluctant” out of readers with this first volume of the “Guys Read Library.” For this title, Scieszka invited some of today's top writers of children's fiction to contribute a humorous short story. Not surprisingly, the resulting compilation has something for everyone. Looking for a story heavy on the ick-factor? Suggest Jack Gantos's “The Bloody Souvenir,” in which the Pagoda brothers return to wreak more havoc. David Yoo's “A Fistful of Feathers” features a bloodthirsty turkey intent on destroying the narrator's life. Eoin Colfer offers an autobiographical piece that shares how his younger brother was his real-life inspiration for Artemis Fowl. Kate DiCamillo and Scieszka team up to offer a hilarious correspondence between Joe and an author who knows how to hold her own with unmotivated students. While these shorter stories may not have the liveliness of the authors' full novels, each one is solid, and more importantly, it offers an introduction to that author's style and voice. Don't be surprised if students come seeking longer works by David Lubar, Christopher Paul Curtis, and other contributors after sampling them in this collection. Scieszka promises future volumes featuring other genres, among them nonfiction, sports, and action/adventure.Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The funny fellow (Jon Scieszka) with the impressive title (Emeritus National Ambassador for Children’s Literature) presents a collection of 10 humorous (you were expecting tragedy?) stories by some leading lights in literature for young readers. This is the first volume of the promised official Guys Read library, which is named for Scieszka’s well-known Web site, designed, like this book, to encourage boys to read. And what better way to start than with this collection of howlers by the likes of Eoin Colfer, David Lubar, Christopher Paul Curtis, and other yuk-inducing luminaries. Standouts include Kate DiCamillo (the lone female among the authors) and editor Scieszka’s charmer of a story in letters between a famous author named Maureen O’Toople and a boy named Joe; David Yoo’s wacky, laugh-out-loud story about a disappointed father and an evil turkey; and from the diabolical imagination of Jack Gantos, a cautionary tale about dangerous friends and rusty pliers. A must-have collection for the boys in your library—and while you’re at it, get a copy for the girls, too! Grades 4-7. --Michael Cart

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 808 KB
• Print Length: 292 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0061963739
• Publisher: Walden Pond Press (September 21, 2010)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003VIWO2K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,934 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Teacher's Grade: B August 26, 2010

By N. Bilmes VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have been teaching grades 2-4 for the past 15 years, and can confirm that boys simply don't take to reading like girls do. Most boys are a little more impulsive than their female classmates, and simply seem to have a harder time staying focused on the printed page. I've gotten boys to read via Captain Underpants, Horrible Harry, Magic Tree House, Sideways Stories, and The Time Warp Trio, but some boys are simply resistant to reading. This collection of stories is geared toward getting those reluctant readers to read. Most of the stories are funny, and all are well-written. My only issue with the book is that a few more illustrations would make it even more palatable to the boys who the collection is targeted toward.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Fail February 22, 2012

By TheLastCoyote VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have to admit I had pretty high hopes for this book seeing as how Jon Scieska edited it. My son is a good reader but a reluctant one and Sciescka's books are among the few that he will read. We read this book together... Well, half of it before we decided to put it away and move on to something else. It suffered from the same problems as many short story anthologies... not enough depth or character development to capture interest, or to even cultivate a good hook for the story. We didn't find any of the stories that we read to be funny in the slightest and quite frankly not all that appropriate for school age readers anyway..

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all ages! April 20, 2011

By Heather

Format:Hardcover

I won this book in just a random Twitter follow a few months ago from Walden Pond Press. I don't read short stories very often but this one pulls you in and you can't help but read this one. First of all, it's got a plethora of funny kid authors. Then, they are writing funny stories. What more could you ask for? The stories range from chuckle funny to so funny I was wiping my eyes trying to read. Some of my favorites were the ones by Eoin Colfer with "Artemis Begins" and "Your Questions for Author Here" by Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka.

In Artemis Begins, Eoin Colfer tells an apparently autobiographical story of growing up with four brothers and how one of his brothers lived a charmed life able to sweet talk his way out of anything. An unlikely role for the middle child, Donal was something of a hero in the neighborhood giving out and later trading his "favors, tricks, con jobs, and sob stories" for candy and what have you. Now, if you've ever read the Artemis Fowl series, you can appreciate the Artemis in Donal or the Donal in Artemis. The story has an ultimate piece de resistance that is a must read and had me laughing throughout thinking, "That is so Artemis!"

But, even if you haven't read Artemis, you can appreciate the story for the sheer genuis of Donal.

The other story that I found so amusing was "Your Question for Author Here" by Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka. It's the story of a boy with a school assignment to write to an author and he wants the author to do all the work. Instead, she ends up making him do the work and then some. Joe sends a Perfunctory letter, though he is supposed to send a Friendly letter and gets a Perfunctory letter back. Through a series of letters, he and the author become friends and Joe learns about writing fom the author. Even so, his assignment doesn't go as planned and the story ends with a surprising twist making authors the hereos of the day!

Many favorite authors are included in this book of short stories and if you have a reader that checks for how many pages are in the book, this is the book for him. (I've found boys do that for the most part in my library volunteering and mothering, but I"m sure girls do it, too.) I think reading short stories are easier sometimes for kids that don't like to read or who aren't as sure of their reading skills. This is the perfect book for them. But, if you aren't a kid, don't let that stop you from reading this book. I passed being a kid many years ago and I loved this book! And a must is the trailer that is posted on the Amazon site where you can order the book. It features all of the authors telling a joke and it is great!

I recommend this book to anyone. If you enjoy these authors, it's fun to see them write something outside their genre. Great for any age!

More About the Author

[DRUM ROLL.....] PRESENTING THE ONE AND ONLY JON SCIESZKA!

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8th, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis, his registered nurse mom, Shirley (who once took Jon's Cub Scout den on a field trip to the prenatal ward), Mad Magazine, four years of pre-med undergrad, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, Robert Benchley, five years of painting apartments in New York City, his lovely wife Jeri Hansen who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith, Green Eggs and Ham, his teenage daughter Casey and almost teenage son Jake, ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade, and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn...are just some of Jon's answers to the questions, "Where do you get your ideas?" and/or "How did you become a writer?" I don't know, just because, none of your beeswax, and flapdoodle poppycock and balderdash are some more of Jon's answers to questions you can imagine on your own. Jon met up with Lane Smith around 1986 or so, and nothing has been the same since. Their first book, the wiseguy fairy tale retelling, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! was initially rejected by most publishers as "too weird" and "too sophisticated". Published by Viking in 1989, The True Story has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and been called a "classic picture book for all ages". Jon and Lane's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) took the world of the picture book a few steps further. Goofing with the conventions of fairy tales and even being a book, The Stinky Cheese Man became a household word, sold another mess of copies in multiple languages, offended a few purists, and still managed to win a Caldecott Honor medal. Math Curse (1995) further stretched the notion of what subjects make good picture books, selling more books faster than either 3 Little Pigs or Stinky Cheese, and winning a whole slew of awards --all for a book full of mathematics.More recently, Jon and Lane have resurrected fables (in the smart, funny, and a little bit wicked way Aesop would have wanted them) in their latest collaboration, Squids Will Be Squids (1998). No telling where they might take the picture book next. Someone once wrote, "Jon Scieszka has forever changed the face of children's literature." And while there is still some confusion over exactly who that someone was, and whether children's literature does, in fact, have a face, most would agree-from The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! to Squids Will Be Squids, since Scieszka put pen to paper, children's literature sure has been...different.