From: Alixwrites_at_aol.com
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:26:06 -0500 (EST)

Yes! This is absolutely true. My books, particularly my earlier, realistic titles, are for reluctant readers and on a fairly low reading le vel (4th grade on AR, but with an interest level for high school). I cannot tell

you how many letters and e-mails I get from kids who are so amazed because

they've never read a whole book before -- and they're really proud and hap py to have been able to get through one of them, just the way I would be if I

was suddenly good at something math-related (which is SO not going to happen). I don't think kids who aren't readers are stupid or unmotivated.

It's just hard for them. In fact, my daughters have two kids who were pla ced in remedial reading, who actually LIKE to read. They're just not great at

it. One of them speaks three languages, so that might be an issue as well .

Here is something that happened to me recently, that I thought was very frustrating. I offered to give a talk at a local high school, which happe ns to be my alma mater, and which has been assigning my books for years. Mos t of the kids who read my books at this school are either in the remedial reading or at least the regular (meaning low) language arts class, but the

school is very academic and very focused on honors, AP, and all that stuff . I was contacted by the head of the language arts department, and I told he r that I'd really like to offer some incentive to get the remedial kids to

come to this after-school event. To that effect, if she'd give me the nam es of the remedial reading teachers, I'd offer a free book for the classroom

library, for every five remedial reading students who came to the event.

I never heard back! I asked a second time and still never heard back. Or

rather, she wrote back about other things, but not the information I requested, about the remedial teachers. I was offering FREE BOOKS! Final ly, I e-mailed a friend of mine who teaches at the school (and who teaches the

"regular" students), and she was able to give me the information. But it

frustrated me so much that the head of the language arts department didn't

care about the remedial kids -- like they were just some kind of bastard

stepchildren of this "good" school. I realize my books have gotten trendi er because one of them is being made into a movie, but really, my books are F OR these kids. I have no interest in only speaking to the AP kids. I wasn't

one of them when I was in school. I could read fine; I just liked to rea d what I liked to read.

I think it's so great that the people on this list really want to encourage

the lower-level kids to read. This is really not what I see in my neighborhood. They want them to do well on standardized tests, so they do n't bring down the rest of the school. Then, they want to shove them aside an d concentrate on the kids who are going to bring them accolades.

Best wishes, Alexandra Flinn _www.alexflinn.com_ (http://www.alexflinn.com/)

Cloaked , available February, 2011

"a diverting, whimsical romp through fairy-tale tropes." — Bulleti n of the Center for Children's Books

In a message dated 2/8/2011 9:51:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, janeyolen_at_aol.com writes:

My youngest son is not a reader. He is very visual and a prize-winning photographer and, interestingly enough, an excellent writer. But he reads for information only. And when we work on books together (his photographs, my

poems) he is a good and careful critic. But he does not read for pleasure.

His older brother and sister are avid readers and are always reading several books simultaneously. Go figure.

Jane
Received on Tue 08 Feb 2011 10:26:06 AM CST