Scieszka Appointed First National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed children’s book author Jon Scieszka as the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The appointment was announced yesterday at the Mulberry Branch of the New York Public Library.
The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature initiative was created by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council (CBC) and the CBC Foundation, and is financially supported by a variety of sponsors, including publishers Scholastic Inc., Macmillan, Candlewick Press, HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin and others. The new ambassador position, according to the organizations, is intended to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.
Scieszka is the author of several best-selling children’s titles, including “The Stinky Cheese Man” and “The True Story of The Three Little Pigs,” and is the founder of Guys Read, a nonprofit literacy organization. He will serve a two-year term as National Ambassador.
“The Library of Congress has long provided free, primary-source educational material for K-12 on the Internet,” says Billington. “The position of National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is a natural extension of that role. Jon Scieszka will be an articulate emissary, promoting reading and literature among young people, which are important for the health and creativity of our democratic society.”