Articles: Learning: The Guys Read Initiative
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Guys Read is an initiative created by Jon Scieszka, who grew up with five brothers, was an elementary school teacher for 10 years, and is a successful author of 22 children’s books as well as a parent of two children, including a boy.
He points to biological factors, reading selections that do not appeal to boys, learned suppression of emotion, and lack of positive male role models in literature as reasons contributing to a general disconnect between boys and reading. As a result, boys often find reading “difficult and boring."
Scieszka says that boys need to be allowed to pick out reading material for themselves. They should be allowed to broaden their range of options beyond school assigned lists, which often do not speak to them. He also says that boys need to know what other boys their own age like to read.
His mission is to “make some noise” for boys’ literacy. Scieszka wants to broaden the definition of acceptable school reading to include comics, newspapers, humor, magazines, and other non-traditional material.
There are two ways that Scieszka’s website can help boys find books that they might like to read. First, the site has a Guys’ Picks section, which lists recommended reading by age group, starting with Young Guys, which includes ideas suitable for kids 5 years old and younger. Second, the site has a search engine, which can help you locate a book based on title, author, or subject.
For all the details and to help your guy of almost any age find a book that might appeal to him, go to the Guys Read website.
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