- Thomas M.
- Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Raising a reader, even if they turned their back on books.
Readers love to share the story of how they got into reading. They usually involve a cherished reading nook, a beloved ongoing series, trips to a library or bookstore, a bonding experience with a friend or relative, or a close connection with a class or teacher. All of those are prime ingredients for raising a reader.
People can also fall out of love with reading, though. Maybe there weren’t any books or storytimes as a child. Maybe books were associated with school assignments and struggling to keep up with the class. Maybe someone told them a book they enjoyed wasn’t appropriate or challenging enough. The dreaded insult “that’s not real reading” can stop plenty of happy bookworms in their literary tracks. A 2020 Pew Research survey found that 42% of 9-year-olds read for fun almost every day, compared to 17% of 13-year-olds and 19% of 17-year-olds. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who read for fun “never or hardly ever” was at 16% for 9-year-olds and increased to 29% of 13-year-olds and 27% of 17-year-olds. The gap could not be clearer: something happens between childhood and adolescence where reading for fun just stops!
Books have plenty of competition, to be sure. You’re reading this article on one of the strongest distraction machines ever invented. The spark can still be found, or relit if it went out.
The booklists linked below each reflect a different route to connecting with stories. Many of these books are available in multiple formats, such as ebooks and audiobooks available for free download on Libby and Hoopla. Embrace the format that works best for you!
Young Adult Book To Movie Adaptations - Is the book always better than the movie? What if the book is young adult fiction? Sometimes the author's voice is too unique on paper to be translated to the silver screen. Or can actors and visual style add a fresh, new angle? Reading and then watching a story (or vice versa) can lead to interesting insights about what makes one version of a story better... or worse.
Graphic Novel Adaptations - How does an artist take the descriptions and inner lives of prose characters and translate them into pictures and poses against backgrounds? This list represents a wide range of stylistic adaptations of prose stories and poems, including manga versions of several classics. Visual elements and speech bubbles can also help developing readers comfortably navigate the text. These graphic novels are great for fresh takes on old favorites as well as gateways for new readers to get hooked.
HiLo Teen Fiction - HiLo fiction stands for High interest, Low reading level. Most HiLo books have certain storytelling techniques in common. Their sentences and paragraphs are short, with generous line spacing. Vocabulary is fairly simple. These features make the text easy to follow. Plots are driven by action and a linear sequence of events. HiLo books are, to use a popular expression, "the books where stuff happens." They can be a building block in the development of a growing reader as well as an engaging, fast-paced read. You won't believe some of the sudden twists and turns these stories take!
Teen Fiction For Dormant Readers - Lifelong reading can be a rewarding habit, but some young people may not see themselves as readers. Sometimes called "dormant readers," these teens seem to read and write just fine, but they do not read books for pleasure. Fortunately for them, there are plenty of compelling stories in print, online, and audio. Below is a list of Quick Picks For Reluctant Young Adult Readers titles from the past three years of the Young Adult Library Services Association's selections. They represent multiple opportunities and formats for converting dormant readers into lifelong ones.
Teen Audio Favorites - Whatever you’re in the mood for, there’s an audiobook on this list for you. Looking for a great mystery? Try out They’ll Never Catch Us or Ace of Spades. Want a good scare? Check out White Smoke or The Taking of Jake Livingston. Have your heart broken with You’ve Reached Sam, then piece it back together with It All Comes Back to You or She Drives Me Crazy. Happy listening!