Children's Author now Reading Ambassador

Jon Scieszka, author of "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" and the "Time Warp Trio" series, received the imprimatur of the Library of Congress last week as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

The appointment comes at a time when declines in Americans' reading proficiency and time spent reading have been widely noted -- most recently in "To Read or Not to Read," a report issued by the National Endowment for the Arts. For many reasons, including economic competitiveness, it is "a matter of crucial national importance" that young people read, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said.
Source: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)