KNUCKLEHEAD- Jon Scieszka

I am a closet book pusher. OK, actually there is nothing closet about it. I push books every chance I get- to kids at school, to friends, to the boys' coaches, and most importantly, to my boys! 

My favorite book pushing trick is to leave reading material on every flat surface available, beginning with the kitchen table. Our table is always heaped with newspapers (opened, of course, to the most graphic photograph I can find), magazines,  and lots and lots of books. KNUCKLEHEAD, by Jon Scieszka, is teetering at the top of the pile right now.

KNUCKLEHEAD is a collection of 38 short (2-4 pages), fun, easily-read chapters about Scieszka's childhood and adolescence in a family of six brothers. Anyone who has travelled cross country with their family will enjoy "Car Trip."If you have ever had to babysit for a younger sibling, you will love"Brother Sitting," and anyone with the youngest child syndrome will laugh out loud at "Stop Breathing My Air." There are also several chapters about learning to read, including "Strange Books,"a very funny piece about the Dick and Jane series that I plan to use at my next Guided Reading workshop.

My test of a good "boy" book is how long it takes one of my very reluctant teenage readers to pick up the book. I put this book on the table last night and caught my older son reading it this morning at breakfast…