Guys Read: True Stories

I guess the "common core" endorsement should have been my first red flag, but I kept an open mind. With a few notable exceptions (Scieszka's illustrated story being the only one I can think of at the moment) these stories range form the mundane to the grotesque and in fact these seem to be the consistent themes throughout. Hoping for true stories of courage, resourcefulness (aside from drinking one's own urine in the Sahara), and overcoming odds by reliance on positive human qualities to inspire my young reader, I was sorely disappointed. I have no idea why George Washington is on the cover because there is no story about him or crossing the Delaware River to raid the Hessians in this book, that I could find. But this too is consistent with the sinister joy destroying bait and switch banality that has been the consistent vice of every piece of common core approved material I have ever come across. If this is the kind of thing that is supposed to replace classic literature in our classroom then the whole thing is truly worse than I thought. I will not keep this book on my shelf, even next to deteriorating pulp-pop paperbacks I find on the street, and regret my choice to buy it. Stick to the classics.

I bought all of them, and he read all of them. With each chapter written by a different real author, he was able to make a list of authors he wants to explore. Then off to the library we went!

This was a gift for my 10-yr old son (a heavy reader) and has quickly become one of his favorite books. I think he has read it at least 10 times in the last two months.

I give it five stars chiefly due to it being an anthology. The variety of styles is fun and easy to read, and I learned some stuff, too. Yep, I'm, well, not a kid, but I learned some stuff. For me, a good story that teaches me something is all I'm really looking for in a book. I bet your kid would like this, too, even if she's not a boy.

I haven't read this book but my young 5th grader loves his "Guys Reads" stories. They are individual stories that aren't connected. It's like a book of fun essays.

Grandson loved it!

My son always loved anything written by Jon Scieszka, so when I bought this for "his" son I was hoping that he would love it. He does :)Highly recommendnice thick book but stories are short enough to not overwhelm a casual reading moment.

my 12 yr old loved this book. He's not a huge fan of nonfiction but needed to fulfill a school requirement. He LOVED this book. We will definitely buy more books from this excellent series.

Great stories in nice "bite sized" portions for the reluctant reader. Our son, age 11, and daughter, age 13, get as involved in the stories as I do!! I'll surely buy more in the series