Reviews

All of the 10 stories in this first volume in the "Guys Read Library" are solid, and several are stellar. Mac Barnett's volume-opener, "Best of Friends," sets the tone-no bad deed will go unpunished. The squeamish (and probably all parents) are advised to avert their eyes from Jack Gantos's "The Bloody Souvenir." Rex has provided full-page artwork for each story, as well as his take on a school for superheroes. Artemis Fowl fans will relish Eoin Colfer's admission about the inspiration for his young criminal mastermind. Jeff Kinney describes the psychological warfare he subjected his younger brother to while growing up. A true gem comes from the editor's desk-Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo pen an epistolary exchange between a writer and a student. "I am supposed to ask the questions. You are supposed to send back the author answers," the student writes. "That is all you have to do." Future volumes will cover such genres as nonfiction, science fiction, mystery, and sports. If they're as good as this one, boys-and girls-are in for a treat. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Future volumes will cover such genres as nonfiction, science fiction, mystery, and sports. If they're as good as this one, boys--and girls--are in for a treat.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)