Harry Potter’s Magic: Getting Boys To Read More

Article here. Excerpt:

'I’m not alone in this view. An entire conference was held on the subject recently at Shenandoah University, where children’s authors and illustrators met with about 300 teachers and librarians for advice on getting boys to read more, says a recent piece in Education Week. The gender gap is well-documented in national achievement-testing data showing boys trailing girls in reading skills by a significant margin. (The ad slogan for James Patterson’s and Ned Rust’s new young adult novel “Daniel X: Watch the Skies” is “OMG! My son is reading!” )

Among ideas presented at the conference: Boys need male role models who love to read, to encourage them to do the same, says Jon Scieszka, a children’s author. Mr. Scieszka, who runs the Guys Read Web site, says being able to tell a boy that “another guy read this book and liked it” may also work. Also, avoid deluging boys with too many choices. Instead, provide a small selection as a start, recommends Mr. Scieszka, a former elementary-school teacher and author of “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs” and “Knucklehead,” as well as other books for preteens.'