Authors and Illustrators Pronouncing Their Own Names

Well, the no nonsense title just about says it all. At this TeachingBooks.Net page you'll find an audio collection of children's writers and illustrators pronouncing their own names.

Time for a quiz! Sound these out before you click on them: How do you say Kevin Henkes? Louis Sachar? Jon Scieszka?

I love this simple site because I totally sympathize. Have you seen my name? Keith Schoch. Just so you know, it's pronounced shoke, which is simple enough, right? But giving a kid with a developmental speech problem a th and a sh in the same mouthful is kind of a dirty trick. If you ever see me presenting, you'll probably notice that at no time do I ever say my full name, but you'll hear my last name eventually when I act out a student asking me a question.

So check this site out and let's stop slaughtering these names!

(By the way, I've got the winners picked for the most recent giveaway, and once I get their permission I'll post those names here. I'm still in the process of notifications and confirmations).