From: ellen mctyre <emsmamaroneck_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:03:11 -0700 (PDT)

--- On Wed, 4/21/10, ellen mctyre wrote:



From: ellen mctyre Subject: Re:
 Boys and Books To: "James Elliott" Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 9:01 AM

I agree, there are  alot of "girl books" on these lists, but there is a l ot more of this type book written and published, in my opinion.

I really believe that boys get shorted because people think they only read fantasy, sci-fi and non-fiction. I don't agree with that and think that som e of these publishers/authors need to wake up and smell the coffee.

That being said, good characters are good characters and coupled with an in teresting story, well they should be able to cross gender lines. This leads me to look at Cover Art. Many older books are being reissued with new cove r art which is more appealing to both sexes a plus for the publishers. I have also read a number of books recently writ ten in "voices" a chapter by chapter character switch from male to female e tc. These fall more into the Realistic fiction category, but work quite wel l.

Also look for books that have multiple main characters of a range of sexes and ages, this may spark more of an interest.

Ellen McTyre Teen Services Mamaroneck Library
--- On Tue, 4/20/10, James Elliott wrote:



From: James Elliott Subject: Re:
 Boys and Books To: "Megan Schliesman" Cc: "Subscribers of ccbc-net" Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 10:21 PM

I know that my son dreads the summer reading list. Not because he doesn't l ike to read (he does!) but because, as he puts it, they only pick girl's bo oks!

I've been complaining about this to the school for years, and we have yet t o find a list that has more than one or two books of interest for him out o f the dozen on the lists.  The one he picked two years ago was a book abo ut dragons, so far so good, but the hero was a very smart girl, and her fri end was a very dumb boy!

Jim Elliott Florida
----- Original Message -----

From: Megan Schliesman To: Subscribers of ccbc-net Sent: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:03:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject:
 Boys and Books

It's time to begin our discussion for the second part of April:  Boys and Books.

* *Is it fair to generalize boys as reluctant readers?  Will they really

not read books featuring female protagonists?   Are stories with acti on the only hook that grabs them?

How does what you observe in your work with children and teens support or refute these and other commonly held assumptions?

And are we, as librarians and teachers, in danger of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by not offering boys materials in which we assume they will have no interest?

Those are the questions we hope to explore in the next 10 days or so. But perhaps you have others to add into the mix.

I'll begin the discussion by confessing that I am  reluctant to "genderize" either books or readers. I know girls who are reluctant readers, and boys who love to read. I want to see great books in the hands of every child.  So to me it's essential to look for ways to meet

the needs of reluctant readers regardless of gender  But over and over again at the CCBC we've had requests for lists or programs or book suggestions to meet the reading needs--or encourage reading--among boys.  Not a specific boy, but boys in general.  We can't ignore the reality--but what IS the reality . . . really?

Megan

Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI  53706

608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu

www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/

---

Received on Wed 21 Apr 2010 06:03:11 AM CDT