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What Kind of Books to Boys Like to Read

Page history last edited by Amy Brown 15 years ago

Boys like books with action and adventure. They enjoy books with humor. Fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries are popular genres. They often are drawn to books about sports, war, and adventure/thrillers. Boys also really like to read nonfiction and comic books and graphic novels. To find books that boys like check out these two titles: Boys and Literacy: Practical Strategies for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents and Gotcha for Guys: Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited About Reading by Kathleen Baxter. Also visit Jon Scieszka's website Guys Read for additional book discussions.

 

According to Michael Sullivan's book Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do and his article in School Library Journal "Why Johnny Won't Read", libraries need to do more than purchase the types of books that boys like to read, libraries need to promote them as well in our booktalks, our booklists, and our displays. We can't just have them on our shelves. We need to connect boys to them and that means that we need to read them. In his book he discusses the fact that in general the types of books that boys like to read are not respected. Often people want boys to read at a higher reading level or to read books that win literary awards and fall into the "good literature" category. But to help kids develop a love of reading and a strong reading habit, kids need to be able to choose the books that they want to read.

 

At a conference Richard Allington, Professor of Education at the University of Tennessee, said that it isn't necessarily the quality of the books that make a good reader but the quantity of books that kids read. If a boy is reading every Captain Underpants book in the series, two important things are happening. He's reading a lot and he's enjoying what he's reading. What more could we want? He also said that it's very important for kids to have a lot of successful reading experiences which means that 90% of what kids read should be easy for them to read so that they can have those successful experiences. The 10% of more difficult reading experiences should be something that kids have with the guidance of their teachers.

One way that libraries can connect boys to books is through library programming. Sullivan says that library programs that encourage competition, that focus on topics that boys enjoy, and that encourage movement and interaction will appeal to boys. His book has some great program suggestions and additional information. A must read for children's librarians!

 

Boys and Literacy

Baxter, Kathleen. Gotcha for Guys! Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited About Reading. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.

 

Booth, David. Even Hockey Players Read. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2002.

 

Gurian, Michael. Boys and Girls Learn Differently! a Guide for Teachers and Parents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

 

Gurian, Michael. The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005.

 

 

Knowles, Elizabeth. Boys and Literacy: Practical Strategies for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2005.

 

Sax, Leonard. Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences. New York: Doubleday, 2005.

 

Smith, Michael. "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys:" Literacy in the Lives of Young Men. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.

 

 

Sullivan, Michael. Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003.

 

Zbaracki, Matthew. Best Books for Boys: a Resource for Educators. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 

 

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