John Cassidy is the chief executive and co-founder of Klutz Press and author of over 200 instructional and children's books, including ''

Juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

for the Complete Klutz'', ''The Klutz Book of Inventions'', and ''The Klutz Book of Brilliantly Ridiculous Inventions''. Cassidy attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he studied English and Education.Klutz – Klutz History
While at Stanford he also became a friend of Darrell Lorentzen and B.C. Rimbeaux, with whom he would eventually found Klutz Press. In 1977, while working as a student teacher at a high school in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

, Cassidy began his career as a juggling pedagogue by handing out 75 tennis balls to his sophomore remedial-reading class, along with instructions on juggling.A "klutz" who knows kids - Klutz Press - Company Profile , Nation's Business , Find Articles at BNET.com
Pleased with his students' response, Cassidy, along with his college friends Lorentzen and Rimbeaux, wrote and published ''Juggling for the Complete Klutz''. The book did well, selling 50,000 copies by the end of 1978. That same year Cassidy, Lorentzen, and Rimbeaux co-founded Klutz Press in

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. Cassidy has remained the chief executive and "creative force" of the company since its founding. In that time he has written over 200 books for Klutz. ''Juggling for the Complete Klutz'', the company's most popular title, has sold over 2.5 million copies. In May, 2006, the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose awarded Cassidy the seventh annual Legacy for Children Award, which honors "an individual or organization whose work has significantly benefited the learning and lives of children." Previous awardees included

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' Bil Keane William Aloysius Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist best known for the newspaper comic strip ''The Family Circus''. He began it in 1960 and his son Jeff Keane continues to produce it. Early life and edu ...

, and

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

.CDM - Legacy for Children Award-Ronnie Lott 2008
/ref> In 2018, Cassidy became a board member of the nonprofit rafting company, ARTA River Trips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, John American book publishers (people) Living people Jugglers American instructional writers American children's writers The Kinkaid School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)