From: James Elliott <j_c_elliott>
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 14:07:15 -0500

The first and foremost thing to do is to find out their interests. We had a young man come in with his mother and she mentioned that he needed to find something to read. I asked what he liked and he said "Comedy" Mom: do you have a comedy section? Not really, what else does he like? "Horror and Science Fiction" I recommeded Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but she said that this was too advanced for him.

It was an awkward situation. How do you ask "What level does he read on" without sounding condescending. So, I just said, 'what level does he read on' and she told me he was about a third grader level. "Bailey School Kids" immediately sprang to mind, and he looked at it and said "awesome!" I further stated "Now if you get home and find that this isn't the right
'level' just come on back in and we'll find something else."

So he checked the first one in the series out, but I haven't seen him back yet.

Anyway, the mom was happy with the special attention, and my asking further into the interests, and glad that I could make a recommendation.


>From: Kathleen Horning <horning at education.wisc.edu>
>To: "ccbc-net, Subscribers of" <ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu>
>Subject: [CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers: Teens
>Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:22:06 -0600
>
>As Megan mentioned the other day in her message about upcoming topics,
>we'll spend the first two weeks of this month discussing books for
>struggling readers. This is always a challenging question in libraries
>and in schools. It's not always easy to find books that are written 3
>or 4 grade levels below the interest level of the reader. But we are
>always eager to find good books that we can recommend.
>
>Let's start our discussion by talking about books for teens. What do
>you recommend for middle and high school students who are reading below
>grade level? Please share your success stories, as well as your
>recommendations!
>
>KT
>
>
>
>Megan Schliesman wrote:
> > Please use the next few days to make any announcements you'd like to
> > share with the rest of the CCBC-Net community. We will begin our
> > discussion for the first part of November on Friday.
> >
> > November Discussion Topics on CCBC-Net:
> >
> > ****First Two Weeks: Books for Struggling Readers It?s often a challenge
> > for teachers and librarians to find books that meet the needs of
> > children and teens who are struggling readers. Older children and teens
> > don?t necessarily want to read easier novels about younger kids or
> > picture books that seem ?babyish.? Engaging books of information often
> > have texts that are too challenging. In the first half of November on
> > CCBC-Net, we?ll talk about the difficulties of meeting the book needs of
> > children and teens who aren?t proficient readers, and invite you to
> > share specific book recommendations.**
> >
> > *
> > *Second Two Weeks: The Books of David Macaulay. From witty, imaginative
> > picture books to intricate, accessible, highly visual non-fiction
> > exploring history, mechanics, architecture and more, the books of David
> > Macaulay comprise a distinctive body of literature for children and
> > teens. We?ll spend the second part of November discussing this masterful
> > book creator?s work.
> >
> >
> > Megan
> >
> >
> >
>
>--
>Kathleen T. Horning
>Director
>Cooperative Children?s Book Center (CCBC)
>4290 Helen C. White Hall
>600 North Park Street
>Madison, WI 53706
>Tel: 608-263-3721
>Fax: 608-262-4933
>horning at education.wisc.edu
>http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
>
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Received on Thu 02 Nov 2006 01:07:15 PM CST