Who is Charlie Joe Jackson?
CHARLIE JOE JACKSON may be the most reluctant reader every born. He does whatever it takes to get out of reading, and so far, it’s worked out really well. But one day in middle school he gets into trouble, and finds his impressive record is on the line. Will he push his luck and do whatever it takes to get out of reading, or will he finally bite the bullet and… gasp… read a book?
Charlie Joe Jackson—the hero of the CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO series—is actually three people, Charlie, Joe and Jack. My three sons (cue theme song).
Over the years, I’ve struggled to get all three of them to read. Especially Jack, my youngest, who would rather stare at a blank wall than actually open a book. So one day I said to myself: what would be the one book that they would actually WANT to read? I decided it had to be a book about how to avoid books.
Thus, was Charlie Joe Jackson—perhaps the most reluctant reader ever born—created.
But of course, my kids were true to form – they refused to read it. At first. I begged and pleaded… nothing. Finally, when I told them that I named the main character after them, they agreed to read it. And they actually really liked it.
But they haven’t read a book since.
