about the book
Charlie Joe Jackson hates reading. He has never read an entire book in his whole life, and he intends to keep it that way!
Kinda’ hard to do when you’re in middle school. Teachers hand out a whole lot of annoying reading assignments. The heavy reading load doesn’t worry him, though. Smart-aleck Charlie Joe goes to great hilarious lengths to not read the assigned tomes. He finagles deals with his sibs, friends, and classmates to fill him in on the needed info. But as one after another of his patsies refuse to help him out, Charlie Joe becomes increasingly desperate to find new ways to avoid cracking the books.
Then he is faced with the nastiest of all assignments, the dreaded research-heavy final paper. Caught in a nasty predicament, Charlie Joe is stumped. He’s not sure he can wiggle his way out of this one. Is there any way at all this unabashed book avoider can evade the massive research work and still make a passable grade?
Whatever he does to side step the assignment, Charlie Joe is sure of one thing. HE IS NOT GOING TO READ A BOOK!
about the author
Growing up in Los Angeles, Tommy Greenwald was the class wise guy. Though a goof-off in school, he was always an avid reader, so he just couldn’t understand why his own three sons HATED reading.
His sons are awesome kids except for the not reading thing…okay, so they are totally disobedient too, but the non-reader thing really bothered Tommy. Pleading and bribing, he persistently dragged the three reluctant readers to libraries and book stores. It didn’t matter what Tommy did, the boys would not crack a book!
So Tommy decided to use reverse psychology and create a story about the ultimate non-reader. He wrote a picture book. His friend, an agent, suggested he turn it into a tween novel.
He rewrote it on the train going to and from work, writing just five to seven hours each week. A couch potato, a night owl, and inherently lazy, Tommy says the best part of writing the novel was finishing it! He would rather nap with his two chocolate labs, Moose and Coco. Yes, those are their real names. They just happened to end up in the book. And so did Tommy’s sons—Charlie, Joe, and Jack!
Tommy is also the executive creative director of a New York City advertising firm, creating and producing radio, television, and print ads for Broadway shows. He co-wrote the musical play, “John & Jen,” which is being produced all across the US and in Europe.
Tommy lives with his family in Connecticut. He’d better get off that couch. There is a series of five Charlie Joe Jackson books planned! And yes, his book-hating sons did reluctantly read his novel! All of it!
Sources:
Author website
Author biography : Goodreads
Author interview : Boys to Books
Author interview : Middle Grade Ninja
Author page : Live Journal
Also by Tommy Greenwald:
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Planet Girl (Charlie Joe Jackson, Book 5). Roaring Brook Press. August 2015.
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Making Money (Charlie Joe Jackson, Book 4). Roaring Brook Press. 2013.
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Summer Vacation (Charlie Joe Jackson, Book 3). Roaring Brook Press. 2013.
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit (Charlie Joe Jackson, Book 2). Roaring Brook Press. 2012.
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