by Jon Scieszka
SELECTED TITLES
LOWRIDERS IN SPACE
LOWRIDERS TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
SHARON CREECH (“Need That Dog”) grew up in a noisy, rowdy family in Ohio (and wrote the book ABSOLUTELY NORMAL CHAOS to tell the story). Another place in her childhood that found new life in her books was a cousin’s farm in a small town in Kentucky. It had hills, trees, a swimming hole, a barn, and a hayloft. She and her brothers and cousins would run wild outside all day and spend the evenings on the porch listening to stories. She was once a high school English teacher, where she says she learned “what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view.” Visit her online at www.sharoncreech.com.
SELECTED TITLES
WALK TWO MOONS
LOVE THAT DOG
THE BOY ON THE PORCH
JACK GANTOS (“How My Mother Was Arrested for Murder”) is the celebrated author of DEAD END IN NORVELT, which received the Newbery Medal, and JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL, which received a Newbery Honor. He is also the author of the popular picture books about Rotten Ralph and JACK’S BLACK BOOK, an installment in his acclaimed series of semiautobiographical story collections featuring his alter ego, Jack Henry. His book HOLE IN MY LIFE was a Robert Seibert Honor Book and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Jack lives with his family in Boston, Massachusetts. You can read more about him online at www.jackgantos.com.
SELECTED TITLES
The Joey Pigza Series, including JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY
The Jack Henry Series, including JACK ADRIFT: Fourth Grade Without a Clue
THE TROUBLE IN ME
WRITING RADAR: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories
CHRISTOPHER HEALY (“The Villain’s Guide to Being a Hero”) always knew he would be a writer. He started out by writing tables of contents when he was a kid (no books, just the tables of contents). When he grew up, he wrote articles for magazines, newspapers, and websites about video games. When he had kids, he started to write articles about them—how they behaved, what their rooms looked like, what books they read, what movies they watched, and more. Finally, he decided to write actual books for them to read. Now he just can’t stop. Visit him online at www.christopherhealy.com.
SELECTED TITLES
THE HERO’S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM
THE HERO’S GUIDE TO STORMING THE CASTLE
THE HERO’S GUIDE TO BEING AN OUTLAW
DEBORAH HOPKINSON (“How I Became Stink Daley”) has written more than forty books for young readers, including picture books, middle grade fiction, and nonfiction. Most of her books are about history in one way or another. She loves to make history come alive, often basing her books on oral histories and personal stories that help her readers imagine the place and time about which she’s writing. She has won many awards for her books and has said that her favorite of all her books is the award-winning SHUTTING OUT THE SKY: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880–1924, which was inspired by her grandmother’s experience as an immigrant. Visit her online at www.deborahhopkinson.com.
SELECTED TITLES
COURAGE & DEFIANCE: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs and Survivors in WWII Denmark
TITANIC: Voices from the Disaster
A BANDIT’S TALE: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket
INGRID LAW (“The Warrior and the Knave”) was born on the shores of Lake Champlain, which is rumored to be the home of a prehistoric sea monster called “Champ.” From the very start, her life was steeped in the lure of the fantastic, of tall tales and big ideas. Her family moved to Colorado when she was six, and her father taught in a one-room schoolhouse. Visiting the schoolhouse, she discovered that small things and small places can be just as interesting and extraordinary as big noisy ones. Fun fact: her second book, SCUMBLE, is dedicated to an imaginary cat. Her first novel, SAVVY, received a Newbery Honor and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor. Visit her online at www.ingridlaw.com.
SELECTED TITLES
SAVVY
SCUMBLE
SWITCH
PAM MUÑOZ RYAN (“First Crossing”) is a bestselling author who has written more than forty books, including the Newbery Honor Book ECHO, ESPERANZA RISING, RIDING FREEDOM, PAINT THE WIND, THE DREAMER, and BECOMING NAOMI LEÓN. She has received many honors and awards for her work. Pam grew up in Bakersfield, California. She says when she was a kid, she was an “obsessive reader.” She began her career as a teacher but eventually decided to try to become a writer, and now forty books later, she can’t imagine doing anything else. She is often asked “What is your motivation to write?” and her answer is simple: “I want the reader to turn the page.” Visit her online at www.pammunozryan.com.
SELECTED TITLES
ECHO
ESPERANZA RISING
BECOMING NAOMI LEÓN
LEMONY SNICKET (“The Hero of the Story”) is the author of far too many books, including the four-volume All the Wrong Questions series and the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events. Visit him online at www.lemonysnicket.com.
SELECTED TITLES
LEMONY SNICKET: The Unauthorized Autobiography
A Series of Unfortunate Events, including THE BAD BEGINNING
All the Wrong Questions series, including WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER NIGHTS?
EUGENE YELCHIN (“Kalash”) grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he trained as an artist and designed sets and costumes for the theater and ballet. His artwork has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and advertisements. He even drew the first polar bears used in the Coca-Cola commercials. He studied film and has directed commercials and designed characters for animated films. He has also illustrated many children’s books. His first novel, BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE, received a Newbery Honor and was named one of the best books of 2011 by The Horn Book.
SELECTED TITLES
BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE
THE HAUNTING OF FALCON HOUSE
JEFF STOKELY (illustrator) writes and draws comics, drinks coffee, and eats pizza. He says he sometimes likes to draw pizza. “But I never eat comics. Ever.” He is cocreator and artist of The Spire (with writer Simon Spurrier) and artist of the series Six-Gun Gorilla (also with writer Simon Spurrier). He has done character design for Max Steel and Masters of the Universe and has done illustration work for companies such as Cryptozoic, Tokyopop, and Udon. Visit him online at www.jeffstokely.com.
SELECTED TITLES
The Spire series (artist and cocreator, with writer Simon Spurrier)
Six-Gun Gorilla series (artist, written by Simon Spurrier)
THE REASON FOR DRAGONS (artist/adapter, written by Chris Northrop)
ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE GUYS READ LIBRARY OF GREAT READING
VOLUME 1—GUYS READ: FUNNY BUSINESS
VOLUME 2—GUYS READ: THRILLER
VOLUME 3—GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGES
VOLUME 4—GUYS READ: OTHER WORLDS
VOLUME 5—GUYS READ: TRUE STORIES
VOLUME 6—GUYS READ: TERRIFYING TALES
CREDITS
COVER ART BY JEFF STOKELY
COVER DESIGN BY AMY RYAN AND JOEL TIPPIE
COPYRIGHT
Walden Pond Press is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Walden Pond Press and the skipping stone logo are trademarks and registered trademarks of Walden Media, LLC.
GUYS READ: HEROES & VILLAINS
“Before We Begin . . .” copyright © 2016 by Jon Scieszka
“The Villain’s Guide to Being a Hero” copyright © 2016 by Christopher Healy
“First Crossing” copyright © 2016 by Pam Muñoz Ryan
“Need That Dog” copyright © 2016 by Sharon Creech
“How I Became Stink Daley” copyright © 2016 by Deborah Hopkinson
“The Wager” copyright © 2016 by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third
“Kalash” copyright © 2016 by Eugene Yelchin
“General Poophead” copyright © 2016 by Laurie Halse Anderson
; “The Warrior and the Knave” copyright © 2016 by Ingrid Law
“The Hero of the Story” copyright © 2016 by Lemony Snicket
“How My Mother Was Arrested for Murder” copyright © 2016 by Jack Gantos
Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Jeff Stokely
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016957939
ISBN 978-0-06-238561-1 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-238560-4 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © March 2017 ISBN 9780062385628
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FIRST EDITION
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