We Love Our Ambassador, Oh Yes We Do

In the meantime, I think it would be fitting to look over Scieszka career in the best possible way . . . via videos!  Now I know I’ve been doing more than my usually video postings recently and that some of you can’t watch them at work or on your hamster-wheel-run adding machines, but really Mr. Scieszka plays best when you see him live.  I’m only including the funny ones.  Special Note: Not hard as they’re all funny anyway.

When Scieszka was first appointed to the position, there was no precedent.  How does one approach The Ambassador?  Do you bow or kiss his pinky ring upon meeting?  Does rubbing his head really bring you luck?  There was so much we did not know.  Rumor on the streets have it (and my memory fogs out sometimes, but I believe that this is the case) that that wry gadabout David Shannon managed to convince people that there was really only one way to greet The Ambassador.

Example A – April 2008:

In May of 2008 someone won the Booksense Book of the Year Award, and it wasn’t the Ambassador.  I like to mute the sound on this and hum the theme to Jaws sometimes when I watch it. 

Added Note: How long until those two make a book together?  Never, I suppose, since Willems only ever does his own stuff (and how many illustrators can you say THAT about, children?).

June of 2008 rolled around and you know what that means!  Time for the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet.  That year Maria van Lieshout and Jim Averbeck had a wild and crazy idea.  Why not pull out a red bathmat and interview some of the folks at ALA?  The results were pretty spectacular (and are easy to find here at On the Red Carpet at ALA).  One of the best?  You know who.

Not that he wasn’t being hounded for advice all this time.  As you can see, even author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka could hardly get Jon’s attention.

All hail Jon Scziezka!!! from Jarrett Krosoczka on Vimeo.

Big time thanks to Jarrett for reposting that old video.  And for his special note to Jon.

2009 rolls around and we got a peek at a very long table and a cleverly cropped bathrobe.

He also seemed to have enough time to do the first story in the Exquisite Corpse Adventure series (Episode 9 is due on January 15th!).

When ALA returned in June of 2009 he was there, not to be interviewed on a red carpet, but to MC the BookCart Drill Teams with the Pigeon Man.  They do it every year now (another gig I covet).  I tried to find good video of them doing their thing, but came up empty.  So here’s my own video of them.  You can skip my blabbing and find them riffing around 1:06.

Then in October of 2009 he . . . AUGH!  BEARD!

Which in a roundabout way brings us to today. We will miss Fearless Leader but I’m certain that whoever it is that’s announced tomorrow, they’ll be brilliant in their own way.  Maybe they won’t make silly videos for me to post (le sigh) but we’ll see.