Jon Scieszka Author Event Today at Brentwood Barnes & Noble

Jon Scieszka Discusses Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor

When: 4 p.m. Aug. 19

Where: Brentwood Barnes & Noble

From Tracy Barrett's story in this week's Scene:

Jon Scieszka is the author of more than 50 books for young readers, starting with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (illustrated by Lane Smith) and continuing through several popular series and stand-alone titles. In 2008 he served as the first U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor is the first book in a new series focused on science whiz-kid Frank Einstein and his Grampa Al. Frank creates two robots to help him make an antimatter motor in hopes of winning a science prize that will earn enough money to pay Grampa Al's mortgage, but his nemesis, T. Edison, is determined to thwart him. Scieszka grew up with five brothers and is dedicated to writing books that all children, both boys and girls, will read. In 2001, concerned that boys tend to read less and less starting in middle school, he founded Guys Read, a Web-based literacy program intended to keep boys reading. He recently answered questions about the program — and his own writing — via email.

Your books are noted for their humor. Do you have to work for that humor, or does it come naturally?

I have a harder time not writing humor than writing humor. If people aren't laughing, it makes me nervous. But contrary to what a lot of people think, it is not easy to write humor. It is the same kind of ditch-digging as writing anything. To make it really good you have to write and rewrite and rewrite some more.

I have been having all kinds of fun writing the Frank Einstein series. Robots, chimpanzee CFO, crazy inventions — but in the middle of Book 1, about the fourth or fifth or 28th rewrite, I realized again, like I always do, that writing is a very hard and very anti-social job. You have to hide yourself away, and get that story in your head down on paper. One. Word. At. A. Time. Excruciating!

, and watch a video of Scieszka discussing his work in a Random House Audio video after the jump.