The REAL Dangerous Book for Boys: Guys Write for Guys Read

The Dangerous Book for Boys may cause a bruise or too, but Guys Write for Guys Read is a trip to the hospital waiting to happen. Where else can boys learn about peeing on electric fences, driving bikes off roofs, or vomiting with brothers?

Guys Write for Guys Read is a collection of memoirs, fiction, poetry and art edited by Jon Scieszka for the sole purpose of encouraging boys to read. One minute it has you laughing out loud, and the next minute you’re reaching for the phone to call your dad. It’s irreverent, it’s funny and it’s going to be the Christmas gift I buy this year for every guy I know.

Five reasons young guys will like Guys Write for Guys Read:

1. It’s funny.
2. It’s got sports, girls and farts.
3. It’s got pictures.
4. It’s edited by Jon Scieszka.
5. It’s got the author of Captain Underpants.

Ok, maybe there are other reasons guys will like it, but those are the main ones. If this book is not in your classroom, you’re missing out on a great way to get reluctant readers to start reading.

Five reasons teachers will like Guys Write for Guys Read:

1. It’s edited by Jon Scieszka.
2. It’s funny.
3. The stories are short enough to be read aloud in class each day.
4. It’s got Stephen King, Gary Paulsen, Neil Gaiman, Lloyd Alexander, Eoin Colfer, Will Hobbs, Richard Peck, and Jeffrey Wilhelm, among others.
5. It will get boys hooked on reading.

I don’t have permission to include any stories from the book on this site, but NPR does, so I strongly suggest you hop on over to “Guys Read: Encouraging Boys to Love Books” where you can read two of the funniest stories in the book, “The Follower” by Jack Gantos and “Copies” by David Lubar.

For those concerned about the book stereotyping boys, there are plenty of stories that will help boys move beyond a narrow view of manhood. The book is not just about farts and vomiting (though it would be hard to imagine a guy book without them). There are some very powerful life lessons as well. One of my favorite lines from the book comes from Richard Peck’s memoir of his father: “Nobody a writer ever loved is dead.”

And “Training the Bear” by Will Weaver is worth the price of admission all by itself. Weaver’s brief metaphor of testosterone as “the bear within” is outstanding for helping boys understand what begins to happen to them in adolescence.

The book is perfect for boys who struggle to read, for fathers and sons to read together, or for women who want to understand the hormone machine that lives in their house (and I’m not just talking about the teenager). It’s PG-13, so read it first if you’re concerned about content–but you better buy two, because you may like it so much you won’t want to part with it.

Guys Write for Guys Read by Jon Scieszka