Connecting Boys with Books 2: Closing the Reading Gap

Citation

Neville, K. (2010), "Connecting Boys with Books 2: Closing the Reading Gap", Collection Building, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 119-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011060411

Boys are often behind girls in their reading levels, and they do not read as often or at the same level as girls of a similar age. The reading gap increases in secondary school, and it is of increasing concern for educators, including school and public librarians, who are looking for methods to tackle this growing problem. Connecting Boys with Books 2 contains practical advice and real‐life examples of ways to introduce reading to boys. Author Michael Sullivan discusses research that has been conducted in the area of reading and boys, in particular recent studies published since the first edition of this book, and he has sound advice on methods to close the gap between boys and girls. This book is an updated edition of the very popular Connecting Boys with Books (2003). Sullivan has published a number of books, addressed numerous teacher and librarian conferences and conducted over 100 workshops on the popular topic of boys and reading. He is a children's librarian with over 20 years of experience as a children's librarian, special needs teacher and library director in public libraries and is a well‐known expert on boys and reading.

This is a compact, easy‐to‐read book with eight short chapters that cover a number of topics related to boys and reading. Chapter 6, “Honouring boys' literature”, examines the different genres of books that will most appeal to young males. There is a growing trend for popular adult writers such as James Patterson (the Maximum Ride Series), Robert Parker and John Grisham to write books that are directly aimed at the young adult male market, and these have proved very successful. This can be a helpful way to introduce young adults to reading adult fiction and continuing to read as adults, when leisure reading is often abandoned.

The author discusses creating a “culture of literacy” in Chapter 8 and the lack of a visible connection between success in reading and success in life that subtly discourages boys from reading, as it is appears less important than sporting success and interests such as computer games. Changes need to occur in the attitudes of educators towards reading and boys. “We must focus our effects on encouraging reading as a leisure activity”, states the author, and good reading habits begin in the home. Schools and libraries can be a model for good reading behaviour. Government initiatives such as the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge are a tremendous boost for promoting reading for all school children although it is aimed at Kindergarten to Year 9. There is no equivalent reading programme for the senior years; however, by establishing good reading habits in the earlier years it will become a lifelong habit and lead to reading for fun as well as for educational purposes.

Each chapter closes with a comprehensive list of notes and additional bibliography, and the book concludes with an extended bibliography and index. I recommend Connecting Boys with Books 2 for any librarian or school teacher interested in the topic of literacy for boys and who hopes to increase their knowledge of current research. This book contains many practical ideas that could be applied on a personal level for parents who are concerned with their boys' reading levels, and equally the methods could be integrated into the library or educational environment.