Anyone who works with reluctant readers knows we can never be certain what is going to spark their interest. When we find books that encourage them to ask, “Do you have any more books like this?” we know we have to tend that spark carefully.

      After helping create the list of High Interest/Low Readability Books generated by the Middle Grades Reading Network in 2005, I was eager to use the books with our eighth grade remedial reading students. The approximately 130 books arrived in time for the start of the 2005-2006 school year. The collection includes a wide variety of fiction by popular authors such as Gary Paulsen, Jerry Spinelli, Margaret Peterson Haddix, and Peg Kehret as well as non-fiction books with irresistible titles like Ice Mummy: The Discovery of a 5,000-Year-Old Man by Cathy East and Mark Dubowski and Tentacles! Tales of the Giant Squid by Shirley Raye Redmond. (Visit <http://mgrn.evansville.edu/5fall2005.htm> for a complete list of these books.)

      The display of new books with appealing covers attracted the attention of the remedial reading students on their first visit to the library.  Since each book was marked with Accelerated Reader reading practice quiz information, it was easy for the students to determine the reading level by flipping open the cover to check the label.  In this way, the books didn’t stand out as “easy reading.”  I also used colored labels for the barcodes to remind us to put these books back in the display instead of on the shelves.

      The reading teacher and I devised a strategy to inform students that the books were a special set requiring their evaluation and review. I designed a simple half- page form asking students to rate the books on a one- through- five star scale from “I don’t recommend this book” to “I couldn’t put this book down!” I also encouraged the students to share a very brief personal evaluation of the book.  Most of the students took the assignment seriously and didn’t mince words. When one frustrated girl couldn’t explain her book’s plot, she said, “Don’t read it.  It’s too confusing.”  After talking to her about her review, I realized she simply needed help in finding something more suited to her interest and reading level. 

      At the start of each nine-week grading period, a new group of remedial reading students came to the library to select a  “special book.” A few of the students who had been rotated back into the regular English class asked if they could still check out books from that display.  I was especially pleased, of course, when a boy asked for “more like this” after reading Gordon Korman’s Shipwreck.  When I showed him where to find Korman’s survival stories on the shelf, his subdued response of  “Cool” told me that maybe I had moved at least one student from the “special set” to the regular shelves.

      The display of attractive books caught the attention of more than just the remedial students.  I soon noticed other students whom I recognized as reluctant readers lingering at the display.  Boys, in particular, enjoyed checking out the non-fiction titles, especially any about the U. S. armed forces or their vehicles, such as Attack Helicopters by Bill Sweetman, Attack Submarines by Michael and Gladys Green, or any dealing with animals; Bear Attacks by Patrick Fitzgerald and Vampire Bats by Anne Welsbacher were popular choices.

      There is no question that the books from the Middle Grades Reading Network High Interest/Low Readability list were a huge success at our school.  I plan to continue coordinating activities with the remedial reading teacher as well as keeping the special display and possibly add additional copies of some of the more popular titles.  The books have certainly generated more than a spark of interest among the reluctant readers. It is now our responsibility to fan the flames.