Engaging tweens in reading has often been looked at in this class. Materials such as Reading Ladders and Naked Reading look to ignite a flame in the tween group to rediscover reading. We even discussed this in the discussion board, looking at how the media does not necessarily reflect a love of reading with the differences between gender roles. Getting boys to read, especially tweens can be difficult, however I was curious to see how many resources I could find.
The first website, and probably the most famous is Guysread. Created by author, Jon Sczieska, the webpage offers a list of book genres with about 5 – 10 titles.
Another website was YALSA’s offering book lists, but especially their Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. With current and previous lists at your disposal, the site offers lists as far back as 1997.
Family Circle also created a list based upon reader recommendations. The link, which offers a slideshow of 13 different titles were interesting. Some of the books, like that of The Maze Runner, seemed to be a bit old for tweens, but most were appropriate for tween readers.
Interestingly, Becnel’s article examines how library programming such as a breakfast book club with food can be a great motivator. While getting boys to come definitely depends upon the book chosen, Becnel’s article gives great tips and expectations for a tween book club.
Ultimately, however, most of the webpages and King Library searches yielded results that were not necessarily relevant to finding reading materials for tween boys. This does not necessarily mean that boys are not reading or that there are no quality materials for tween boys, but rather that information for this issue is not yet fully looked at or simply displayed online.
Resources
Becnel, K. (2006). Picture books and pancakes: Breakfast book club gets tweens into reading. Childrens & Libraries, 4(1), 26 – 27. Retrieved from Library Literature and Information Science.
Oppenheim, C. (2011). Best books for tween boys. Retrieved from http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/fiction/best-books-for-tween-boys/
Guys Read. (2011). Guys read. Retrieved from http://www.guysread.com/.
Young Adult Library Services Association. (2011). Quick picks for reluctant readers. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/quickpicks/qphome.cfm
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