How Can Mentors Turn An Uncertain Journey Into A Heroic One?

By NPR/TED Staff

Published December 18, 2015 at 8:55 AM CST

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Hero's Journey.

About Jarrett J. Krosoczka's TED Talk

Jarrett J. Krosoczka is a successful author and illustrator. But, he says, his life could have gone in a completely different direction, if he hadn't had a long line of mentors.

About Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Jarrett J. Krosoczka has been a storyteller since the age of eight, when he wrote, The Owl Who Thought He Was The Best Flyer, about an owl who challenges Hermes to a flying race.

He has since published 18 picture books and graphic novels for children, including the much-loved Lunch Lady series, which is a two-time winner of the Children's Choice Book Award.

Krosoczka hosts The Book Report with JJK on Sirius XM's Kids Place Live, a radio show about books for kids 10 and younger. In 2010 he founded the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships at Worcester Art Museum, to fund classes for young and underprivileged aspiring artists.