Brought to you by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Books & Related Info for
About the Exquisite Corpse Adventure
Ever heard of an Exquisite Corpse? It's not what you might think. An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.
Our "Exquisite Corpse Adventure" works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, has written the first episode, which is "pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!" He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.
Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now. To get bi-weekly updates with new Exquisite Corpse Adventure chapters, click on the subscribe link 
at the top of the page. "This story starts with a train rushing through the night...." No one knows where or how it will end!
Episode 1 – “ . . . Just Start Reading”
Contributed by: Jon Scieszka
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 2 – “The Lost Clue”
Contributed by: Katherine Paterson
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 3 – “This chapter is entitled (what else?) THE FOUND CLUE”
Contributed by: Kate DiCamillo
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Episode 4 – “Dig That Pig”
Contributed by: Susan Cooper
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 5 – “The Exquisite Corpse”
Contributed by: Gregory Maguire
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 6 – “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!”
Contributed by: Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 7 – “The Beast Pit”
Contributed by: Shannon Hale
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Episode 8 – “A Possible Solution”
Contributed by: Natalie Babbitt
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 9 – “In Arm's Way”
Contributed by: Natalie Babbitt
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 10 – “Wolf at the Door”
Contributed by: Megan McDonald
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 11 – “A Second Arm”
Contributed by: Steven Kellogg
Illustration by: Steven Kellogg
Hear it
Episode 12 – “The Shadowy Abyss of Our Own Fates”
Contributed by: Lemony Snicket
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 13 – “Lucky Episode 13: Out of the Cradle, Into the Fire”
Contributed by: M. T. Anderson
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 14 – “Skills”
Contributed by: Linda Sue Park
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 15 – “The Gingerbread House”
Contributed by: Katherine Paterson
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Episode 16 – “If I Only Had a Leg”
Contributed by: Kate DiCamillo
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 17 – “Speak, Memory”
Contributed by: Susan Cooper
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 18 – “The Regional Conference”
Contributed by: Gregory Maguire
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 19 – “Legs on the Run”
Contributed by: Shannon Hale
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Episode 20 – “An Angel Descends”
Contributed by: Steven Kellogg
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 21 – “Anything At All”
Contributed by: Linda Sue Park
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 22 – “Meanwhile, Near a Meadow”
Contributed by: Lemony Snicket
Illustration by: James Ransome
Hear it
Episode 23 – “Promises, Promises, and More Promises”
Contributed by: Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Episode 24 – “When Is a Door Not a Door?”
Contributed by: Natalie Babbitt
Illustration by: Timothy Basil Ering
Hear it
Episode 25 – “Que Sera, Sera.”
Contributed by: Jack Gantos
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 26 – “The Final Scramble”
Contributed by: Jack Gantos
Illustration by: Chris Van Dusen
Hear it
Episode 27 – “The Final Scramble”
Contributed by: Katherine Paterson
Illustration by: Calef Brown
Hear it
Walter Dean Myers is the new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
Classic Book: The Rocket Book (1912) By Peter Newel
The upward progress of a rocket, lit in the basement by the janitor's son, causes some strange situations as it passes through 20 floors of apartments! Read This Book Now
More about this book
