Wild Kids-Literature Gets Real in Ballwin

Tuesday afternoon at , Jon Scieszka had his audience captured. 

Sitting on the school’s gymnasium floor, the gradeschoolers studied their guest speaker, sometimes in awe, frequently letting out giggles and uproar as he talked and told stories.

As an established children’s author, Scieszka’s rapport with kids is well-documented; Scieszka was named the United States’ first Ambassador for Children's Literature in 2008, and has authored multiple hit children’s books, most famously The True Story of the Three Little Pigs in 1989 and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stupid Fairy Tales in 1992.

Drawing on his experiences growing up as one of five boys (documented in his book, Knucklehead), Scieszka connected with his audience Tuesday with anecdotes about family, school and mischief that sometimes transcend age.

“That’s how I got the idea for the (True Story of the) Three Little Pigs,” Scieszka said, referring to the book that retells the classic tale from the wolf's point of view.

The inspiration dated back to being a young boy, when a bout of wrestling with his brother, Jim, resulted in a broken couch leg. When their mom questioned the boys on what happened, Scieszka said, the blame was passed from one brother to the next. The author had been exposed to the power of a story’s perception.

Scieszka’s appearance Tuesday was arranged through Pudd'nhead Books in Webster Groves, and coincides with a nationwide tour he’s doing in promotion of his new book series, Spaceheadz, which had its third of four installments released last month.

Scieszka said the chance for young readers to talk with an author, and sometimes bringing them into a bookstore, both help make reading and writing more accessible.

“Because honestly, a lot of kids don’t know where books come from still," Scieszka said. "So this is part of the education process to say, ‘No, this is where these books came from.’”

Jon Scieszka is scheduled to appear at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters.