Last week, Natalie Whipple of Between Fact and Fiction had an excellent post on boys and reading. Please stop by to read the article and the many excellent comments that follow. Susan Quinn over at Ink Spells has compiled the list of recommended boy books mentioned in Natalie’s comments section (well worth downloading) and has written her own thoughtful post on the matter.
Below is my comment at Natalie’s:
As a former teacher, a mother of two boys, and a writer with one boy book manuscript under my belt, this topic is very important to me.
I think the drop off in male readers (at the young adult level) happens for a couple of reasons. The number of titles is one reason. Girls are more comfortable reading about boys than boys are reading about girls. Bruce Coville has spoken on this before, that society sends a message certain books (stories with a female lead) aren’t really for boys. It happens early, fourth or fifth grade. Some will continue reading about girls (if they are the self-assured sort). Many won’t.
One thing that is so important is reading aloud. Children need to have this practice continued at home and in the classroom well beyond those lower elementary years. Parents (dads too!) need to model a reading lifestyle. Teachers and libararians should have open-ended discussions about books, engaging readers and non-readers alike.
An interest in reading for boys and girls drops off during the upper elementary years. Reading becomes more work than pleasure as school work gets harder and other activities compete for reading time. If we can continue to read to our children, this doesn’t have to be the case.
If we can help boys to be secure and confident, more titles will appeal to them.
If we produce more boy-centric stories, more boys will continue to read.
This is not easy, and there is no quick solution.
What do you think keeps boys reading?
I agree with what you’ve said, Caroline. I have an 11 year old son who is an avid reader – although as the demands on his time grow, the less he reads, especially during the school year. During the summer he’s much more apt to spend hours buried in a book, or anytime he’s in a car long distance.
But when he grabs a hold of something he loves, he will read through it voraciously, especially if it’s a series.
He did probably stop reading books with lead girls a year or so ago. He loved the Series of Unfortunate Events, but there was a good mix of boy/girl characters in that.
I don’t know if it’s a lack of good books. There continue to be great books published with strong boys in the main character role, and there are lots that have been published in the past. I think the main issue is that boys tend to become more active, less likely to want to sit still to read, less appreciative of quiet time.
Of course, I’ve seen with all three of my kids that a love of reading has never been a problem; the problem is a lack of time. There are far too few hours in the day now…
You are pretty much the smartest person I know Caroline. Well said. My son is 2 so we haven’t dealt with this yet. I hope he will love great stories (and not just stories about boys.
Caroline, have you ever read anything by William Brozo? He has some fabulous work out regarding boys as readers and how to get them engaged. He’s one of the best I’ve seen.
Natalie, what a compliment. You’ve left me speechless.
Shannon, I haven’t read William Brozo but am writing his name down.
Heidi, I agree the drive to be active contributes to the reading drop off.
Excellent thoughts. Although I don’t have children, this is something I’m very concerned and saddened about. I love hearing proactive ways to address the problem!
Great topic. This is so seldom discussed, and it really should be. Thanks for the links!
Hey Caroline,
Thanks for bringing this up and for the great links. I hopped over to see what books were recommended for boys since I’ve got three of these grubs and didn’t see Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz on the list.
I’m curious what you think of this series since my twins (who are 8) can’t get enough of these books. This raised my second question for Susan Quinn and for you:
What about kids reading books beyond their age-level? They’re gobbling them up, but the subject-matter is more mature? (This hasn’t just been an issue for my boys, but came up recently when my 11-year-old daughter wanted to read the Twilight series.)
I’ve taken a hands-off approach, (and, in the case of my girl, she’s been good at knowing her own limits and set aside the third book in the Twilight series until she’s ready for the sexy content), but I’m curious how others handle this?
Hi Rachel,
I haven’t read the Alex Rider books but had several students who loved them.
The age-appropriate question is tough for me. My third grader has been reading well beyond his level for years. Still, he’s a little boy. I’ve previewed a few books before handing them over, but mainly let him read what interests him.
I also make sure he’s reading things below his level, as strange as this sounds. He loves the Horrible Harry series, about second and third graders. He needs to read about children his age and needs the space to be a kid.
Excellent thoughts on boys and reading. I have a 12 yo boy and he still loves to read. But he’s entered that phase of not liking reading about girls. When we read Little Women this fall, he had a hard time enjoying it. But I still think that we need to continue to expose and encourage our boys to read widely, across genres and across gender lines. For example, we’re reading Across Five Aprils right now, and my girls are listening too, even though the MC is a boy. It enriches our lives to read widely, don’t you think?
I’ve got a 10-year-old boy who loves to read. He’ll listen to just about anything I’m willing to read to him, and he has read all the Alex Rider, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and Gregor the Overlander books. He also reads a lot of Star Wars books, even the 500 page adult ones (fortunately they don’t have a lot of objectionable material, they’re just longer and more detailed than the kid versions). Now he’s starting in on the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, Fablehaven and Night Ranger. I think the books are there for boy readers. You just have to search harder.
Caroline responded: I also make sure he’s reading things below his level, as strange as this sounds.
Funny you should mention this because this is the approach that my kids’ elementary school is taking with reading and literacy. My understanding of thrust behind The Hundred Book Challenge is for a child to read books that he’s capable of reading in order to reinforce vocabulary and build confidence.
Initially, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of slowing my rapacious readers, but I’ve grown to appreciate this approach for the reasons I mentioned, as well as yours, Caroline.
Jody, I so agree! Reading a variety of styles, topics, and genres is part of being a well-rounded human being.
I liked Across Five Aprils but loved No Promises in the Wind, about the Depression. Have you read this one?
Rachael, I’ve been meaning to tell you I made your pumpkin chocolate muffins. They were wonderful. The recipe’s a keeper.
Sherrie and others: I’m so happy to hear of the reading happening in so many homes. Hooray for boys who have made this a part of their lives!
As another teacher, this is something I face a lot. I have several boys who tell me “I don’t like to read” in Sept. I always respond “yet” and then kind of look at me funny. By this time in the year, I generally don’t have many who would say it again 🙂
Yep, I’m joining hte teaching crowd. And getting boys to read can be a challenge. Finding the right books is the key. But also incredibly hard.
I love your post, Caroline! It’s perfect. I plan to start a son/parent book club next year when my son hits fourth. The boys need to be encouraged just like the gals.
Great post!
Thanks for linking to the list! I’ve gotten a lot of great responses, and suggestions, and will have an updated version up by tommorrow.
Your points about reading below grade level, and modeling by Dads, are both spot on. Kids should feel free to read what interests them (within limits), to keep that love of reading stoked. My husband isn’t a reader, but is very committed to making sure our boys read. He’s probably read more children’s books in his life than adult ones!
Also: I’ve found that my writing encourages my boys to read (and write!) more. They know that books must be very special, because Mom talks about them all the time!
I’m late but this is a great topic. My boys are young 3 and nearly 5 but I read to them all the time and instill a love of books with them whenever possible. When I go book shopping they are with probably 75% of the timne and I always have them pick something out for themselves. Not trying to spoil them here but merely allow them to pick up what they want to read/look at/have read to them etc.
When I think back to what made me want to read it had to have that sense of wonder to it and when I put books down it was because they didn’t (I’m think a lot of required reading here) that and even in high school some of the classic’s were awful to me-Good Earth, Old Man and the Sea.
I love Hemingway now but that was because it cam back around to me choosing to read Sun also Rises and A Moveable Feast. So I guess what I am taking my sweet time getting to here is that at least with me-I wanted a choice in what I read and the more choices the more likely I was to read.
Welcome, David!
Yes, choice is essential. Kids need the opportunity to dabble here and there with book choices.
Kath over at [insert suitably snappy title here…] has recommended a book to me called THE RIGHTS OF THE READER, about instilling a love of literature in children. I’ve ordered it, and it’s sitting on my nightstand, third or fourth in line. Really looking forward to it. I’m sure I’ll create some posts on what I read.
Well done on reading with your boys. Keep it up as long as you can.
Wow, it’s so nice to see such caring people. I share the same passion through my site, http://www.GettingBoysToRead.com. It’s filled with tons of articles and a few videos. ~Mike