boys & books i hate to read – what does it mean, why did he say it, and what you can do about...
TRANSCRIPT
Boys & Books “I hate to read” – what
does it mean, why did he say it, and what you can do about it
Two resources One story from JDC One personal reflection
BOYS & BOOKS For more information, visit:
www.guysread.com For the power point and
handouts, visit www.connectingya.com
For more info, email me: [email protected]
Connecting Young Adults and LibrariesConnecting Young Adults and LibrariesPatrick JonesPatrick Jones
http://www.connectingya.comhttp://www.connectingya.comGetting startedGetting started
What do boys see as obstacles to reading? What are the facts about boys and reading? What are one hundred great books for boys? What magazines and comic books will boys
read? How do you make the connection between
boys and books? Where can I find more information?
What do boys see as obstacles to reading?What do boys see as obstacles to reading?
A national survey conducted as part of YALSA’s 2001 Teen Read Week celebration netted more evidence about what boys see as obstacles to reading. These are the responses of teenage boys; the average age of the survey respondent was 14:
Boring/not fun 39.3% No time/too busy 29.8% Like other activities better 11.1% Cant get into the stories 7.7% I'm not good at it 4.3% Makes me tired/causes headaches 2.5% Video games/TV more interesting 2.3% Too much school work 1.4% Books are too long 0.09% Friends make fun of me 0.01%
What are the facts about boys and reading?
How much do you know about boys and reading?
Answer true and false to each question
What are hundred great books for boys?
Many books boys are asked to read don’t appeal to them. They aren’t motivated to want to read.
SO what does appeal to them?
What do guys read?
Top Titles from guysread.com
Quick Picks 2004
MagazinesNonfiction
subjects
FOR YOUNGER GUYS
The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss. Illustrated by Crockett Johnson.
Go, Dog. Go!, by Philip D. Eastman.
The Stupids Die, by Harry Allard. Grimm’s Fairy Tales ??????
FOR EARLY READERS
Be A Perfect Person in Just Three Days, by Stephen Manes. Illustrated by Tom Huffman.
Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown Captain Underpants Time Warp Trio ????????
FOR EARLY READERS
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz, editor. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar. Illustrated by Julie Brinckloe.
The Twits, by Roald Dahl. Illustrated by Quentin Blake.
FOR OLDER GUYS
Tangerine, by Edward Bloor.Holes by SacharLemony Snicket booksGary PaulsenCirque du Freak / Shan??????
FOR OLDER GUYS
Card, Clancy, Crichton, Jordan, King, Koontz, Patterson, and Sanford
Dickey and TyreeGoines? Holmes? Coldest Winter Ever?????
POETRY
Kids are the best judge of the poetry they like, young boys in particular like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. Older boys will like Tupac, poems written by other teens, and love poems.
NON-FICTION
Choose books based on the subjects they care about. Look at books by Russell Freedman, David Macaulay, Jim Murphy, and Seymour Simon. Older boys won’t read authors as much as subjects of interest.
FACTS ABOUT NONFICTION
Researching reading and at-risk teens is a focus of Dr. Teri S. Lesesne from Sam Houston State University. She says, “In my seven year study of at-risk teens, one of the observations I have been able to verify year after year is that nonfiction matters to these less than enthusiastic readers. Even though some of them read nonfiction regularly, they do not see themselves as readers because nonfiction is not as valued in
the English classroom.” .
Why don’t boys like to read
1. Associate with failure
2. Time and energy
3. Negative pressures
4. Not stimulated by ideas
5. No encouragement
6. Not a priority
7. Can’t find the good books/stuff to read
Reaching reluctant boy readers with fiction (Quick Picks list)
have a hook to get the reader’s attention immediately move at a fast pace with only a few characters have a single point of view and few flashbacks or
subplots deal with real-life situations/high interest topics have emotional impact; they are gripping and
memorable use short sentences and paragraph and non
challenging vocabulary have attractive covers, wide margins and easy to read
type face and be less than 200 pages
Reaching reluctant boy readers with nonfiction (Quick Picks list)
Nonfiction will meet many of this criteria, but also will
contains lots of illustrations to complement the text
adopt of magazine style layout approach contain first person narrative and real life
experience
Maintaining a collection
Reading is more than fiction; more than books;
Maintaining a collection
Collection development doesn’t mean buying new books
Young adults like magazines
1. Visual 2. Appeal to short attention spans. 3. Speak to developing special interests. 4. Socially acceptable reading material. 5. Information on important stuff - sex, sports, etc. 6. Fads/celebrities 7. Easy reading level 8. Don't have to read them at school: no pressure 9. Dream/fantasize/set goals: the case for comics
Computer Gaming World
Teen People
Dewey or don’t we know ?
What are the nonfiction areas, by Dewey number, which are popular with boys?
Dewey or don’t we?Dewey or don’t we?000 100 200/400
300 500 600
700 800 900
GUYS READ: more information
Brozo, William G. To be a boy, to be a reader : engaging teen and preteen boys in active literacy. Newark, Del. : International Reading Association, 2002. ISBN: 0872071758
Gurian, Michael. What stories does my son need? : A guide to books and movies that build character in boys. New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2000 ISBN: 1585420409
Odean Kathleen Great Books for Boys: More Than 600 Books for Boys 2 to 14 Ballantine Books (Trd Pap); ISBN: 0345420837; (March 1998)
Smith, Michael. Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of You Boynton/Cook Pub; ISBN: 0867095091; (March 2002 )
Sullivan, Michael. Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do. ISBN 0838908497 ALA Editions, 2003.
GUYS READ: ten action steps
Link to guysread.com Reward reading Booktalk or tell a story ALA posters:
purchased and created Work with coaches
GUYS READ II: this time it is personal
Buy less fiction Recruit boy volunteers
(community service) Ask and listen Put the books where
the boys are Buy books boys will
want to read
Things Change
(Walker and Company, April 2004)
Connecting Young Adults and LibrariesConnecting Young Adults and LibrariesPatrick JonesPatrick Jones
http://www.connectingya.comhttp://www.connectingya.com
Consulting, training, and coaching for library staff to provide powerful youth services
Author visits to [email protected]
GUYS READ For a full handout packet, visit
http://www.connectingya.com For the power point, visit: http://
www.hclib.org/extranet/ For more information, visit:
www.guysread.com
For more info, email me: [email protected]