By Various Authors ; Edited by Jon Scieszka
Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read series is one of my favorites, fun and exciting for boys to read. This new book in the series, True Stories, is no exception. There are ten amazing stories: what it was like to grow up in Vietmam during the war; hunting for tarantulas in the Amazon; learning to play a guitar from an old broom wire; death defying canoeing down a wild Alaskan river; wonder if you could draw cartoons; learn science from reading poetry; fix an aching tooth by pounding it into the roof of your mouth; be the first person in America to see the largest elephant that ever lived; be shipwrecked, captured and enslaved in the desert; and left for dead in the old west after being mauled by a bear. These are such fascinating stories. I especially liked two stories: the graphic story of Hugh Glass, the man left for dead after being attacked by a bear and the story of Captain James Riley who was shipwrecked and captured in the desert. These were such amazing stories of someone’s will to live. I loved the story of the history of dentistry, although gruesome at times, making me glad to live in modern times. The story of canoeing and fishing is a wild adventure that I just held onto my seat and couldn’t stop reading. If readers love high adventure, along with tender moments nestled in, True Stories is the book to read.
Review by Renee Larsen, Hillside Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 5-8
Series Website: http://www.guysread.com/
Guys Read: True Stories
Written by edited by Jon Scieszka
Walden Pond Press
272 pages
Release Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 9780062316523 (hardcover)
I just bought this series. Thanks for your review.