Book Review - Boys and Literacy

There were a group of boys at my house and we were talking about school in general. The topic of reading came up and the boys said that subject material was just presented in such a boring way. Pages and pages of reading with too little visual support and no means of interaction. They liked books that gave them summaries of the most important points in the margin and that highlighted information that was practical and do-it-yourself.

I remember my son's homework in his reading class. He was supposed to do a book report on one of the classics. Now, here comes the problem. The library's copy of Gulliver's Travels is pure text. And knowing my son, it would take him ages to finish the entire book. So what I did was to buy another Gulliver's Travels but with pictures on it. That got him to start reading the book and finish it as well. We discussed the important scenes in the book so that he'll appreciate literature more.

Describe an experience when you were engaged in discussion with a boy about literature.

I remembered my cousin Jason had a hard time understanding his book report two years ago. Since he had no sister to look up to, she turn to me for help knowing that I am really into reading. What I did to help him was I let him read aloud while I listen to his readings. Then we discussed one chapter at a time. It is better to him to read out loud cause some boys could easily grasp the story by hearing what they read. I am there for him through the entire book listening to him patiently and guiding him through the entire process of the report.

Now, i can see him improving and can read silently. He will just approach me when some paragraph weren't that clear to his capacity to understand.

Hi Rose, yes, most boys prefer text that have graphics or other visual information in it. The thought of reading a book that has only words makes me cringe. Perhaps this is why it is difficult for me to read fiction books?

zemlene, you are a good cousin! Sometimes all it takes is just showing that you care.

Describe an experience when you were engaged in discussion with a boy about literature.

I was talking to a student of mine way way back about the word "gay". The context of the literature was gay was pertaining to happiness and joy. I don't remember what particular article it was but it was talking about a person who was gay. "Mercutio is gay because of what happened" or something like that. The student interpreted the "gay" word as homosexual. He could not reconcile the word "gay" to happiness.

The hermeneutics of a literature should be in context with the time it was written. That is why there are problems with interpretation of old texts today.

At 9 years old, my son likes to read. I am so glad that he does, because many of his friends his same age have little interest. He has told me that he prefers books with pictures - like The Adventures of Tintin, Asterlix and Oberlix and other graphic novels. The subject matter of these kinds of books also appeals to him more than the kinds of stories my daughters read at that age.

We were talking about books he likes the other day and he said his favorites are The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, and the Time Warp Trio books. I can see that all of these books have themes that boys can relate to. Personally, I am glad that my son is enjoying reading and learning what "reading for pleasure" is about. Once that experience is firmly anchored, there is plenty of time for Milton and Faulkner later!