The Truth About Boys and Reading

On average, boys dont read as well or as often as girls. What would it take to level the playing field? A vocal group of male authors, academics, and librarians argue that we need to rethink our whole approach.

September 2007

By Mike Knight

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We should also examine the sedentary conditions at school that work against boys’ natural energy. “We need to find ways for literacy to tap into that energy,” Newkirk says. “When boys draw Ninja battles, they’re expending energy in a good way.”

Coy has helped third graders make a “sound book” based upon his book Vroomaloom Zoom. “I find that lots of kids who struggle with reading and writing are good at making sounds,” he says. “This helps give them a connection to the project and everybody gets excited about creating sounds for their story.”

When the author first introduced schoolkids to the stage version of his book Strong to the Hoop, even the most reluctant readers volunteered to be in the play because “they weren’t volunteering to read,” Coy says. “They were volunteering to be on a basketball team.”

Scieszka subscribes to the idea that we should encourage boys to read anything they wish as long as they keep reading. “We’ve got to expand what our definition of reading is,” he says. That means being open to comics, magazines, and the like.

He suggests parents find a few books for their boys and then read the beginning aloud to see if it’s interesting to them. “If it isn’t, don’t make a big deal about it,” Scieszka says. “Guys are solution-oriented. Most of us are thinking, ‘Stop talking about it—let’s try something and see what happens.’”

6 Clever Ways to Get Your Boy Reading

1 Help him discover how books are made. Boys like to know how things work, so sign up for one of the hands-on workshops at Minnesota Book Arts, where he’ll learn how to make paper, print, and bind books.

2 Keep books close. Boys often flock to the family computer during down time or after school. Grab a stack of books with topics of interest to him and place them around the computer. Or slip a title or two under that mountain of clothes on his bedroom floor.

3 Make storyboards. Comic books, video games, and TV shows are standard fare for many boys, so ask him to develop movie-style storyboards that illustrate his favorites. It will get him thinking about the structure of stories and what makes them work. Ask questions about the characters and how he’s married the storylines with his own drawings. Discuss similarities to the plots of other comics, games, and shows.

4 Ask your local library about their Guys Read program. Some Guys Read programs have guy-lead events and book clubs; others are simply collections of books for boys or “guys picks” areas of the library. If you’re a father, choose a few titles to read with your son—and make sure he sees you reading.

5 Watch a movie based on a book. Better readers frequently prefer reading the book to seeing the movie, but beginning readers or those who struggle with reading often find watching the movie first provides a visual framework and makes the book more approachable.

6 Stock up on fact-filled books like the Guinness Book of World Records, almanacs, and trivia books. Boys like to read books they deem useful, particularly books with photos, illustrations, and diagrams perfect for browsing and building an interest in other topics.

The Truth About Boys and Reading

Raising Readers

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