HOW TO GET BOYS TO READ?  DOES J.K. ROWLING HAVE THE SOLUTION?

July 21, 2007 12:01 a.m. all over the United States

      J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in a book-buying frenzy to hordes of people lined up for hours outside bookstores.  Among the 8.3 million who bought the book that day were boys.  Yes, indeed. Boys of all ages.  No doubt, many of them might even be considered reluctant readers.  And yet, there they were, not only standing in line at midnight to buy the book but also devouring it.

      Perhaps some merely wanted to be part of the hype, to get in on the fun.  And just maybe some of them wanted to read the story.  Harry Potter’s world is full of action, fantasy, and suspense, three elements near and dear to the hearts of many boys throughout the world.

      Love the Harry Potter series or not, we should not ignore boys’ reactions to it. If millions are hooked on Harry’s adventures, we are witnessing a phenomenon: boys will read books that encourage them to turn the pages.  With no disrespect intended, J.K. Rowling is not the only author writing books that appeal to boys.

      What we as educators have to do is make it our goal to do our homework.  Do the research. Talk to librarians.  Read as many books as we can to find the most appealing ones and “sell” them to our male students. In a sense, we need to become marketing experts.  If boys will devour Harry Potter’s tales, then let’s find other books that will also absorb them.

      We need to embark on this mission of encouraging male readers as soon as possible. There’s no avoiding ominous statistics all around us.  In the July 22, 2007 edition of The Tampa Tribune, reporter Marilyn Brown addressed the reading gap that exists between boys and girls, calling it “a serious crisis.”  Ms. Brown’s concerns are echoed in schools all over the United States.  The reading crisis is indeed serious, and as it widens, it grows more and more alarming.

      Boys learn to read from a year to 15 months later than girls.  They also outnumber them in remedial reading classes.  Harry Potter aside, boys also read fewer books than girls do. A steep decline in reading among 18-24-year-olds exists, with reading among young men falling at a faster rate than for women.

      In Ms. Brown’s article, she includes the following from Evan Levsky, Director of Just Read! Florida at the Department of Education.  “Boys don’t see a point to reading.”  Levsky says that as a young teen he did not read a book from seventh grade through high school.

      Levsky’s early aversion to reading echoes among many, many boys.  Coming up with a plan to encourage boys to read is a colossal challenge, but it is one we have to meet head on with all the creativity and effort we can muster.  We absolutely have to do everything we can to convince more boys that there is a point to reading.

 Let’s consider the following efforts:

      Determine if there is there a reading gap in your school by comparing test scores of boys and girls.

      Check last year’s Young Hoosier Book Award results to see how many books were read by boys and by girls. 

      Develop a survey to find out the reading preferences of boys and girls.  For example, give a brief description of each of the Young Hoosier Book Award books to students and then read excerpts from each.  Encourage students to offer their interest level in each selection. 

       Show copies of current magazines from the school library to students. Read excerpts. Engage students in discussion and in rating their interest in reading the entire article.

         Meet with groups of students and ask them about what kinds of books and magazines they prefer.  Find out if those materials are available in the library.  Boys usually prefer books and periodicals about hobbies, sports, and activities they might engage in, and in informational resources. Also focus on known male preferences for science fiction, adventure, fantasy, and humor. 

         Target boys’ interests, in particular, when selecting books to read aloud to classes.

      Check with the school librarian for titles of books that boys tend to check out from the school library.  Obtain some of them for the room collection. Be sure to preview the books with students to whet their appetites and heighten their interest in them.

        Provide a field trip to the nearest public library.     Include specific information about how to find books, magazines, and newspapers of interest to students. Then walk them through the steps.

      Encourage parents to use their public library and help their boys find reading materials of interest to them.  Be sure to read excerpts from a variety of these materials. Showing is far more effective than just telling students or parents about books, magazines, or anything else for that matter.

          Form a special group of boys who are readers and work with them to design ways to increase reading among boys in the school.  For example, in a middle school with grades 6-8, use eighth graders to develop and execute the plan.  At the heart of this idea is the need to make reading “cool.”  If a boys’ committee can convince other boys that reading is the cool thing to do, then almost anything is possible in developing a reading effort.

         Display posters featuring men and boys reading.  The American Library Association has many posters available that feature males reading.  See the article by Eden Kuhlenschmidt about the American Library Association’s graphics in the spring, 2007 issue of NetWords or access it online at <http://mgrn.evansville.edu/2007spring1.htm>.  Adapt the poster idea as needed.  Encourage your boys’ committee to design its own posers for display around the school.  Let your creativity run free with this project.  The boys’ group may develop some terrific ideas and posters to encourage other boys to read.

            No one is saying that it’s easy to engage more boys in reading. J.K. Rowling found a way, didn’t she? She wrote books that many, many boys wanted to read and did. We have to be just as creative as Ms. Rowling (yes, it’s possible) as we move beyond Harry Potter to find ways to succeed in developing a nation of male readers.