Inspiring Boys to Love Reading

I recently visited the Whitmore Library to attend a lecture given by Ann Cannon, a local author who also works at The King’s English Bookstore in Sugarhouse. Her lecture was titled “Books and Boys, a Match Not Made in Heaven.” A few years ago, Ann won a contest and was about to have her first book published. The book was about boys and targeted a male audience, but the publisher had sent an illustration for the cover that seemed to appeal more to girls. When Ann questioned the cover, the publisher told her that 80% of the book market was female and they couldn’t afford to lose that market. As a mother of boys, Ann set out to find out why boys aren’t avid readers and to affect a change. The big question is how to get young boys to not just read, but to love reading. Ann’s lecture presented some helpful hints to facilitate just that.

So, how do we foster a love of books? We start by making sure we don’t squash our child’s enthusiasm. Create a friendly reading environment. Have a comfortable reading space for the child. A fun chair or beanbag, or a little reading nook or cubby can help make it inviting and kid-centric. It also helps to have lots of different types of books around the house. Not sure what your kids might like to read? Get to know your librarian. They can make suggestions based on your child’s interests and age.

One of the most important and easiest things we need to do is loosen our definitions of “reading” and “appropriate” material. Some people are so narrow in their definition that, for them, only fiction novels counts as “reading.” Ann expressed how appalled she was when, at a past book fair, she saw a boy around the age of seven bouncing with excitement over a book he’d found and couldn’t wait to read. Instead of encouraging this excitement, the mother removed the book from the boy’s hands - using two fingers like it was a dirty sock - set it down and said, “We’re not buying that.” Talk about squishing enthusiasm!

Let your kids decide what they want to read. Include magazines and newspapers in your definition of reading material, not just books. The non-fiction and fantasy genres are huge with boys, as are almanacs such as Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the DK Eye Witness books. Follow-along audio books can also be great tools in your “get kids to read more” arsenal. Let children read comic books (or ‘graphic novels’ as they are called now). Bear in mind, these books are called graphic novels because they contain graphics/pictures, not because the material is graphic in nature. Two currently popular series in that genre are Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Bone. Boys also love short, silly, rhyming books like those written by Shel Silverston. Franchise books such as Star Wars and Sponge Bob can be big hits with boys, too, since they contain characters and settings that the boys are familiar with and enjoy. In general, boys tend to like action books, preferring to read about external conflicts rather than internal conflicts.

Another important thing for children is modeling. Read to your children and let them see you reading and enjoying it. It is especially important for boys to see their dad modeling this behavior. A colleague of Ann’s once pointed out that moms are typically the ones to read the bed time stories, and the teachers who help kids learn to read are often female. Boys end up viewing reading as a ‘girl thing’ that they don’t identify with. It’s a good idea to read what your kids are reading so you can discuss it with them. For boys, that means talking about what happened in the book, not how it made them feel.

So, where to start? How about establishing a reader’s Bill of Rights, giving your young reader(s) permission to skip pages, not finish a book, re-read a favorite, read anywhere, read out loud, and read at their own pace? Allowing your child to read what they want is important, too. After all, who wants to read if you have to put a bunch of effort into defending your reading tastes?

One mom at the lecture commented that her child refused to read items she suggested, so she got his friends’ email addresses and had them send their reading recommendations to her son. Her boy was a lot more willing to take suggestions from his friends. When it comes down to it, sometimes you just have to be a little sneaky about getting kids to try new things.
Have fun reading!

Michelle Suitor