Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka

Not quite as funny as I was hoping (I liked "How Angel Peterson Got His Name" better....this one also geared to a younger tween audience- maybe up to 6th grade. A quick, enjoyable read, however!

Funny funny book -- a quick read that will delight young and old readers alike. Scieszka tells tales of growing up in Flint, Michigan with his 5 brothers, going to Catholic schools, family trips, adventures in the yard, burning things, and crossing swords (you'll have to read it to know what the

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last one means).

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A collection of mostly humorous memories of his childhood growing up with 5 brothers in Flint, Michigan. HIs dad, who was a school principal, referred to his 6 boys often as 'knuckheleads' and you'll understand why after reading some of their adventures, like stuffing their model planes with

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firecrackers and hurling them into the sky at the last minute. Illustrated with cute photos from the family album, this would appeal to young boys especially. At 106 pages it might even qualify for a biography report!

I enjoyed the photos as I am from that era and it felt a bit nostalgic.

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Jon Scieszka relates the very comical and wild childhood memories of growing up with 5 brothers back in the 50s in the suburbs of Michigan. Tales of naivete and innocence incur such laugh-out-loud moments in this book. After likening a new space heater to a campfire, why does it smell so bad when

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we pee on it? Many other stories include epic battles among his brothers, and grand imaginative play in tanks and foxholes, and one botched car trip that starts with the cat puking up the candy bar in the station wagon, which starts one brother to also puke, then another, and ends with a complete and utter vomit fest. Disgusting. Gross. And, to a young boy, excellent!

Grade 2-8, mostly boys. Wide appeal. Independent Read.
Strengths - Very funny, great relatable characters, short vivid anecdotes
weaknesses - None

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This was quite a cute autobiography; I'm only familiar with a few of Scieszka's picture books...I've never read the Time Warp Trio series or his newest truck books. I wasn't especially dying to know more about him. But I was pleasantly surprised to find the very ordinariness of his childhood to be

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inspiring and empowering and I think kids reading this would think so, too.

It's compiled as a series of memories in very short chapters - very easy to read. It also happens to be more than 100 pages, so if you're struggling to find a book for that relucatant reader who has to read a biography of more than a hundred pages, you've find the right book!

Scieszka grew up in Michigan, the second of 5 brothers (I feel sorry for his poor mother). The memories he describes mostly have to do with various adventures he and his brothers would get up to, the trials and tribulations of being taught by nuns, and how his parents dealt with wrangling five boys. It's lively, funny, and upbeat. I enjoyed it immensely!

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This memoir gives me a new understanding and appreciation of Jon Scieszka. His tales of growing up are reminiscent of my own childhood. This would be an engaging read aloud and a great conduit to talk about a past era--the 50's. The photos really add reality to the text. This nostalgic memoir, told

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from a youthful perspective, cannot help but b engaging for kids. It's a perfect piece to incorporate into an author study.

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Suggested age: Grade 4+. Genre: Autobiography.
Jon Scieszka is the second oldest of six boys, and this book focuses largely on their growing up together. He covers the trials of large families, the struggles with being one of the oldest, and relationships he and his family had together. I might use

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this book as an example to introduce biography to students. It has a simple format, with small vignettes coming together to form the whole. The style and clarity of the writing would make it a good mentor text for student writing.

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Relics and stories are deeply rooted in this hilarious memoir of childhood from children's author Jon Scieszka. Scieszka is well known for his work illustrated by Lane Smith including "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!", "The Stinky Cheese Man", "Science Verse" and much more.

"Knucklehead"

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reveals the stories and facts that have shaped him as a person and as the children's writer that he is today. From growing up with 5 brothers in Flint, Michigan, to naming pagan babies in Catholic School, to attendance in Culver Military School, stories of mischief and adventure in the childhood of Jon Scieszka are revealed and hilarity ensues.

Themes: Jon Scieszka, Autobiography, Childhood, Brothers, Growing Up.

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Even funnier because it's true. A nostalgic view of family life back in the 60s.

Anyone who grew up in a middle-class American family or neighborhood with boys can relate to this book. Jon Scieszka reflects on his childhood experiences from wrestling with his brothers to family vacations. This book is great for readers of all ages, and will keep you laughing the whole way

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through.

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Loved the story of the model warfare and the one about the road trip with the pecan log and the cat. So glad I only have one boy, but as I watched my husband read this, I could totally picture him and his two brothers getting up to some of the stunts in this book. In fact, he could add several

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chapters of his own! What is it about boys? Hilarious reading.

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If you know a reluctant reader with a biography book report assigned, and you don't point him toward Knuckleheads, you're missing a great opportunity to turn that child into a great reader. Scieszka knows his audience and his biography is right on target. His biography humorously details the events

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in his childhood that led him to his current success as an author. Raised in a family of six boys and hard-working parents, he has a wealth of material to work with.

He mentions his many of his favorite childhood stories, Mad Magazine, My Side of the Mountain, Go, Dog. Go!, and more. He was not a fan of Dick and Jane.

"When I read the Dick and Jane stories, I thought they were afraid they might forget each other's names. Because they always said each other's names. A lot.

So if Jane didn't see the dog, Dick would say, 'Look Jane. Look. There is the dog next to Sally, Jane. The dog is also next to Mother, Jane. The dog is next to Father, Jane. Ha, ha, ha. That is funny, Jane.'

Did I mention that Dick and Jane also had a terrible sense of humor?

At home, my mom read me real stories. These were stories that sounded like my life. These were stories that made sense. She read me a story about a guy named Sam-I-am. He was a fan of green eggs and ham."

Knuckleheads, his father's name for the collective Scieszka boys, is full of life's great lessons - read, if it sounds to good to be true - it is, listen, learn to cook (because stirring oatmeal is more fun than picking up dog poop!), have a sense of humor.

Chapter 36, "What's so funny, Mr. Scieszka?" will have the reader in stitches.

Black and white graphics and period photos and advertisements add humor and interest - Gregg's broken collarbone x-ray and the dreaded Halloween bunny suit come to mind.
This is a heartwarming and hilarious biography that will entice even the most reluctant of readers. And for budding humorists, Knuckleheads is a "must read."

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FUNNY! The car trip and religion class stories were hilarious.

Laugh out loud funny stories about Jon Scieszka's life growing up with five brothers. A quick read, each chapter tells a short vignette of just a couple pages.

Jon Scieszka proves to be a great storyteller, whether it's a storybook about three pigs or his real life. Scieszka makes his stories accessible to all types of readers, and know hows to interest them. Knucklehead is filled with stories from his childhood of growing up with five brothers, going to

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Catholic school and a mother who is a nurse, teaching her boys the proper terms for body functions. These stories will appeal to all readers as the book is broken up into short, 2-3 page chapters. He fills the book with black and white photos of his family and illustrations from his childhood, allowing readers to get a sense of what life was like during this time. Even though the times were in the 1950s, children today will still understand where Scieszka got his humor from. For ages 9 and up.

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Once you begin reading this book you won't be able to put it down. Jon Scieszka tells his life story in an incredibly engaging way. The photographs that accompany each chapter tie everything together very nicely.

MSBA 2009-2010

Good book. Very funny, although I found it to be more of the humor that you smile and chuckle at than laugh out loud.

It is the most funny book about childhood that i have EVER read. It is a must read, even for adults

Scieszka tells his personal story in a very funny and honest way. His texts easily connects students to their own life experience. Sciezka describes his story in details so rich that readers can imagine themselves watching Sciezka growing up. This book is a great tool to teach children writing

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narrative story because of its rich description.

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Knucklehead, by Jon Scieszka, is a biography. Jon is a very funny guy and he writes books primarily for guys. By writing about himself he allows all boys to relate to his crazy childhood. This relation with Jon motivates boys to read because they think, "if he can do it so can I." My favorite part

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about this book was the structure of the book. Most biographies are long and boring, but the author has many chapters in this book and none of them are more than five pages. This was perfect because I could pick up the book between classes and read a whole chapter and not have to remember the beginning. This is great for kids too because they always need to read. When they have finished their work early this gives a great opportunity. Another thing I liked about this book was the writing and the language used. This biography was written with a joke on almost every page, and a story about how he managed to get in trouble that week. Jon wrote about his childhood and used a lot of short quick sentences to allow for quick and fun reading. The only down side to this is the language used was not very challenging for a 3rd or 4th grade student who would be reading this. The last part of the book I liked was the images, Jon had masses of pictures of his family in the book. Jon showed interests and quick previews of chapters with a picture on the first page. These pictures pull the reader forward, for example the picture of the melted army men and airplanes intrigued me. Even though I was already done reading for the night I read that extra chapter because I wanted to know what had happened to that plastic army man. Jon is an amazing author and I found this book to be extremely educating and entertaining at the same time. The big picture of this is to get boys thinking, and realizing they can be readers and writers too.

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MSBA 2009-2010

Good book. Very funny, although I found it to be more of the humor that you smile and chuckle at than laugh out loud.

John Scieszka's Knuckleheads is an entertaining memoir of well, a knucklehead, to put it plainly. The narrator explores the trouble he would get himself into or the silly and crazy things that happened to him over the years. There are several highly entertaining accounts in this story that will

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really help reach the reluctant reader, particularly a reluctant boy reader. I find this to be an incredibly useful book - one that any classroom library should have.

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