I recently read in Publisher's Weekly magazine from January 3, 2008 that Jon Scieszka has been named the country's first national ambassador of children's books. I have long been a fan of Mr. Scieszka since I first became familiar with his ever-so-popular book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs published in 1989. This two year appointment as ambassador is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the Children's Book Council and is modeled after the Children's Laureate position in the U.K.

I think Scieszka is most deserving of this position and will be able to set the stage for the continuation of this august role. He is funny, smart, and articulate and most importantly, kids love to read his books. I was also pleased to read that Mr. Scieszka plans to make his platform "Reaching Reluctant Readers". His attitude of letting kids read whatever it is they want to read, regardless of whether it is considered great literature or not and to "stop demonizing TV and online as the enemy" is a step in the right direction in my humble opinion. Scieszka founded his own initiative in 2001 called "Guys Read" which is available from his website, www.guysread.com. From this site guys (and girls) can get a listing of good books recommended by Scieszka himself.

It will be interesting to see the energy that Mr. Scieszka brings to his new position and what new initiatives may develop during his appointment. The future of reading seems bleak when looking over the statistics discussed in the NEA's recently released study, "To Read or Not to Read". But I think Scieszka has his finger on the pulse of our young readers and I am optimistic when he says "I'm speaking to that knucklehead in the back of the classroom, because that knucklehead was me." Go for it, Jon!!