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J.J. Brothers visit Market Street
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The J.J. Brothers taught the students of Market Street School about literacy with plenty of humor. Jim Hixson (left) hosted the event, and asked the students to use their imagination to make the story of “Ivanhoe” come alive. Unbeknownst to Jim, his brother Jon (right) made the story very real behind him with a knight’s costume and a sword.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The crazy antics of authors Jim and Jon Hixson had Market Street students like Brianna Hall (left) and Cameron Thompson (to her right) laughing out loud.
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Jim Hixson tried to teach the students of Market Street about how adjectives could help explain a place like an old attic. While Jim wasn’t looking, however, his brother Jon replaced nouns like “attic” and “spider web” with the humorous suggestions “Jim’s head” and “Jim’s face.”
By SARAH FOOR
The J.J. Brothers, also known as Jon and Jim Hixson, are celebrated children’s book authors and proponents of making reading and writing a fun activity. In a hilarious and informative school assembly on Feb. 7, the J.J. Brothers brought their message to Market Street Elementary School.
Jim was the host of the event.
“I’m so ashamed of my brother, Jon, and his silly antics and crazy costumes during last year’s assembly.”
Jon appeared on stage and apologized to the students in a respectable brown suit. However, he then turned around and the entire back of his suit was gone, showing his boxer briefs and under shirt, earning a roar of laughter from the students.
“I got this suit half off at Wal-Mart,” he quipped.
Jon then brought plenty more humor and costumes to the show, while Jim still managed to teach the children about the importance of storytelling, imagination and the power of adjectives.
Jim gave the children advice on making stories come alive by imagining them as a movie playing in their heads. The duo also told the students that adjectives help make the descriptions of people, places, or things really sing.
When the raucous laughter from the duo’s silly antics died down, Jim took a moment to be serious at the close of the show.
“We love to write books,” he shared, “but we love to talk to you kids about the importance of reading and writing even more.”