The school library media center has over 10,000 books, and you are intimidated by the number of books displayed.  Finding a suitable book is an overwhelming task.  You have not checked out a book from the school or a public library for some time.  You spend little time reading because it proves to be too much of a chore. 

      Now imagine that you are the seventh grade reading teacher or the library media specialist in the school where the student is enrolled.  What could be done if you worked together with your counterpart to help engage all reluctant readers with books and other print materials?

      Indiana middle grades reading teachers and school library media specialists must work together.  High interest/low readability books need to be available in the school library media center, and reading teachers should frequently take their classes to the library, know the reading interests of students, and know the location of books for reluctant readers in the school library media center.

      High interest/low readability books are available from many publishers.  Perma-Bound has a catalog of High Interest/Low Readability and Reluctant Reader Titles 2004-2005.  The catalog contains hundreds of titles and many sets of books for middle grades students who are reluctant readers.  As an example, one set is composed of 28 true stories for reluctant readers.

     The American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association annually prepares a list of books for reluctant readers.  This year’s list has 33 nonfiction and 47 fiction titles from 30 different publishers.  The list is available at: http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/quickpicks/05quickpicks.htm>.

     Many middle grades schools order the intermediate Young Hoosier Book Award books in addition to those on the middle grades list.  The books are all featured as middle grades books so that anyone who reads any of the books is satisfying the school’s qualifications for participation in the program.

     Even if these titles are in the school library media center, the student who has low reading skills needs help finding the books.  One way to do this is to have a special section where the books are located without highlighting that they are for such students.  Teachers and school librarians can help students find the books without embarrassing the students and can match them with books of interest.

      Students need to practice their reading to be good readers, and reluctant readers miss such practice when they are not engaged with appropriate books from their school library media centers.  Books for these students need to be available.  Without them, the rest cannot happen.  But even with the books, students may not read them unless there is support from their reading teachers and school library media specialists.