Reading Material for Boys: Different than for Girls
By: Keith
The other day I wrote and article that harangued the young adult reading section in most book stores for selling out to the teenage girl market and neglecting boys. Boys just don’t want to read ridiculous love stories (ridiculous describes most love stories I guess). After writing that article, I thought to myself, I wonder if there’s some place I can go to find a list for boys, some specific list of books that have a proven track record of being liked by boys. Let’s face it, girls like certain types of stories and boys like others, generally speaking. Thankfully I don’t have to spend months putting together a list of my own (as I was considering doing). I found Guys Read, a website dedicated to lists of suggested reading for boys of all age groups categorized into genres. The site has lists for little boys like the Trucktown series and The Stupids as well as other less well know (at least to me) works. In the older age ranges there are the classics, The Dubliners, Huckleberry Finn, White Fang, etc… . This is the place to go if you have boys and you want a bunch of well organized, convenient lists. I was thinking of it for homeschooling purposes, but fun is just as valid a reason.
Boys can Read too:
Boys can read, but they aren’t getting the right material. Studies have shown that while boys and girls are at parity in math and science (except at the high end where boys still dominate) boys are lagging behind in reading and verbal skills. An interesting Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times states these statistics: (see link for full opinion and more references)
The average high school grade point average is 3.09 for girls and 2.86 for boys. Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to repeat a grade.
Boys are twice as likely to get suspended as girls, and three times as likely to be expelled. Estimates of dropouts vary, but it seems that about one-quarter more boys drop out than girls.
Among whites, women earn 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 62 percent of master’s degrees. Among blacks, the figures are 66 percent and 72 percent.
In federal writing tests, 32 percent of girls are considered “proficient” or better. For boys, the figure is 16 percent.
Why are Boys Behind?
There is no definitive proof as to why this is happening to boys, but some people believe it’s because boys learn more slowly than girls. Those of us with boys know that isn’t true. They don’t learn more slowly, they learn differently. Our public education system is sedate; it’s designed around verbal learning which is what girls are especially good at. Boys are bored and disinterested in school and it is reflected in their slumping grades. Coincidentally, this Nicholas Kristof person mentions the same Guysread.com website that I found (I read his op-ed after I stumbled on the website) as a helpful tool to better engage boys in the action/adventure stories that keep them reading. Being a homeschooling father of two boys I can say with some authority that my boys are quick learners if given the freedom to express themselves as they see fit. Sitting still in a seat all day isn’t it. At least one of them (the older) would be behind too if he was forced to endure the lobotomy that is public schooling.
Read What You Like:
Reading is reading as far as I’m concerned. Just like writing, quantity is the tool to achieve competency. It doesn’t matter if 100k words come out of graphic novels or Jane Austen novels. Quality writing is quality no matter what picture it sits next to. Thus, if your boy likes to read graphic novels, let him. If he likes to read Dean Koontz, let him. If he likes Jane Austen, that’s cool too. The idea is to simply get him reading and enjoying what he’s doing. It’s the enjoyment that will spawn the desire to learn.
Related posts:
Great article. I don’t have a boy, but this would be an awesome resource. I read a lot when I was little, I liked nonfiction. I read something that boys like to read how-tos or about how stuff works. Also I remember reading a lot about different places. For fiction, I did really enjoy the Little House books, even though those are more popular with girls. Some other fiction I liked was Encyclopedia Brown and the Henry Reed books.
.-= Dad is in the House´s last blog ..How to Wash Stuffed Animals =-.
DadintheHouse: My sister read all the Little House books. I was too proud to ever read them myself but I’ve had a few other guys mention them to me so perhaps I missed out
Bryce was almost held back in kindergarten because he didn’t use his scissors correctly and was not into the “artsy’ part of learning, that girls dominate, but if they would test boys on Lego’s they would soon know how coordinated they are. I’m sick of boys not being recognised for their unique talents. Also, look at the clothing section for boys and then for girls! They need to lose the “princess” crap too.
Mom: I didn’t know that about Bryce. I think you just thought of a good article. All the pink princess stuff is a little over the top
Agreed.
I totally agree on the boredom factor. I allow all 4 of my kids (yes, even the baby) to choose their own books from the library. I also select specific books for teaching purposes, but I want them to love what they are reading or having read to them. I look forward to the day when I have a house full of independently reading children.
As a side note on books that are interesting to boys, and the learning gap, when I was growing up in the public schools it was hard for my teachers to find LITERATURE that was interesting for me. I was an extremely precocious reader, and most of the classics had masculine themes and characters. Try looking for the displays of classics rather than in the young adult section. It is true that most book stores stock that area with teen queen trash.
Growing up, there were some authors that I really enjoyed. If you haven’t discovered him yet, you have to try Gary Paulsen. He writes excellent fiction for boys.
Jody: The classics is a good point. Mark Twain is an excellent example. Wow, I looked up Gary Paulsen because I recognized the name but didn’t know what he’d done. He’s got an impressive list and I’m a little ashamed to admit I’ve never read any of his books. Thanks for that!
Don’t neglect the classics. Most of them were written my men for boys. Stuff like The Phantom Toll Booth, The Red Badge of Courage, A Separate Peace, anything by Mark Twain. The classics are boy friendly because when they were written, women were being published only extremely sparingly. And why don’t boys excel in school? Because men almost never teach. It’s a feminine world. The teachers, the principal, the lunch room cooks… all women. I’m not sure that’s women’s fault. Men need to choose that profession more often and quit thinking of it as a woman’s job. The male teachers my son had when he was still in public school were the ones who got through the ADHD fog to him. Many of the women did too, but not as powerfully. I feel for boys in our system as it is. They’re just left behind and no one seems to be doing a thing about it.
Beth: You’re totally right about the classics. I noticed a lot of them are included in the reading lists. I think the first male teacher I had was my shop teacher in 7th grade. That’s pretty sad.
That looks like a pretty good resource, I”m going to go book mark that for future reference.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Birthday celebrations and burger bars =-.
It’s so important to draw attention to reading, and attract reluctant readers to it, especially boys. In fact, I’ve recently completed a feature magazine article on this subject that came out in October, “Help for Struggling, Reluctant Readers.”
I grew up as a reluctant reader, in spite of the fact that my father published over 70 books. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries, especially for tween boys, that avid boy readers and girls enjoy just as much.
My blog, Books for Boys is dedicated to drawing attention to the importance of reading. And my new book, Lost Island Smugglers – first in the Sam Cooper Adventure Series – is coming out in July-August. Contracts are also signed for Captain Jack’s Treasure and River Rampage.
Max Elliot Anderson
PS. My first 7 books are going to be republished by Comfort Publishing later in 2010
i’m all for exposing kids to a lot, and trying to find books that build on whatever they naturally gravitate to. wonder how much is influenced by how much they see us reading, vs. channel or web-surfing. Read! it’s good for you! maybe not the most compelling argument, even with a GREAT reading list.
.-= Stefan @dadtoday.com´s last blog ..Let’s Get Meta-Physical! =-.
I agree with you about enjoyment spawning the desire to learn. Boring books are no way to create life long readers!
The Percy Jackson books are pretty intriguing for a lot of boys.
.-= Megan´s last blog ..The Secret of the Dreaded Reading Log =-.