GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ

The complaint that there aren’t enough books for boys can be dismissed after seeing Scieska’s new collection, for which 88 writers and illustrators have contributed work. Awkwardly titled (its allusion is to Scieszka’s Web site), this well-intentioned anthology runs the risk of stereotyping boys with its tales of barfing, farts, sex, basketball and war, and all of the very short pieces appeal to readers with short attention spans and the need for frequent visual stimulation. However, as a collection of brief autobiographical essays, excellent for reading aloud and as models for writing, this is quite good. Lloyd Alexander writes about a first date, Marc Aronson about the pure male joy in throwing things, Jack Gantos about daredevil neighbors and Gary Paulsen returns to the theme of peeing on electric fences, first explored in Harris and Me (1993). If it leads boys to the many works by the authors represented, it will have done a fine service to its cause. (foreword) (Anthology. 11+)