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Jon Scieszka was named the country's first national ambassador for young people's literature. Modeled on the Children's Laureate position in the UK and the Poet Laureate program in the US, the two year appointment is a joint effort between the Library of Congress and the Children's Book Council.

Jon will act as a spokesperson for children's literature, speaking to groups of parents, teachers, and children. Events have already been planned for Children's Book Week in May (New York, NY) and the National Book Festival in December (Washington, DC). Jon has chosen the theme "Reaching Reluctant Readers," and he plans to focus his events & speaking engagements around his "Guys Read" initiative.

Coverage thus far has included articles in The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Washington Post, and the Seattle Times.

For more information, please see this article in The New York Times.

After a refreshing holiday season, all of the Penguin workers are back inside the office working industriously once more.

2007 is over, 2008 has but just begun, and already we have a slew of exciting projects and authors to talk about here at the Penguin Blog.

So Happy New Year from all of us, and keep checking in as we prepare to post the first of our many projects of the year!

-- The Penguin Group (USA) Online staff