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books

Guys Read – still!

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[This is a continuation of my guys read series courtesy of a fantastic workshop by Michael Sullivan.]
As we know, boys and men are reading something, even if they claim they aren’t. But what and where they are reading is something that we need to not only take a look at but we need to work with.

Where do the men in your life read?

The answer is probably “the bathroom.” Another popular answer is probably “in bed at night.” More broadly, the answer is men read in isolation – they do it when no one else can see them. If they are reading outside the bathroom or the bedroom, they’re probably doing so covertly, too. Michael Sullivan joked, with all seriousness, that the paperback book is a male’s best friend because it can fit in his back right-hand pocket just like his wallet.

Do you see the challenge?

By not seeing men reading because they read in isolation, boys don’t develop reading role models. They model this behavior, then, and read covertly, if they’re reading at all. Remember back a couple weeks ago about the fact boys think with “rules and tools.” If there’s not a road map there to guide them (i.e., a male reading role model), then it will be difficult for boys to see reading as something they should do.

That means finding male role models who are reading or getting those men in your life who do read to do so in sight of younger males. Boys want role models, and if they see it, they want to do it, too.

As you’ve gleaned from here and from the last two posts, the problem is that we’ve made reading work for boys. There are barriers all around them, even if we don’t necessarily see them. Remember that the “rules and tools” mentality combined with the lack of reading role models, as well as the belief we share about books being what it means to read is telling boys that they aren’t really reading. They believe they’re weak because they don’t do it as well as Susie or Sally and they believe they don’t read because the newspaper, magazines, or the internet isn’t really reading.

So rather than admit they can’t read, they practice the mentality of they don’t read. As humans, it’s easier for us to admit to not doing something versus being unable to do something….even if it’s the case they CAN and ARE doing it.

Never fear, though, as we can solve this problem, and the solutions are much simpler than we can imagine, given the cards stacked against boys from the start.

First – never stop reading to boys! Boys love listening to stories, and often it is this very act of reading aloud that helps them strengthen their reading skills. Find a male to read aloud to them, too. This is a bonding activity and a force of modeling the behavior.

If you don’t have time to read aloud, introduce boys to audiobooks. This increases their literacy just like the printed word does, and it also allows them to do other things while they’re reading (remember that boys prefer being active since that’s how they learn best – can you get better than an audiobook to give them that freedom?). Here’s the plug for my post on audio literacy, too, if you haven’t come to see just how valuable that learning is.

Stuck on WHAT to have to a boy to read? Welcome to Boys Lit! Remember the discussion about how boys like rules and tools? Well, their brand of books is fast paced, action-filled, and features characters who see something then act on it. These books don’t develop character who have complex relationships with one another or communicate; these are books of things happening, with a character using rules and tools to move forward. These characters are mad because the map showed a road and darn it, there will be a road (they don’t need to ask for directions!).

Boys love:

* Non-fiction (sports, action, adventure, gross, quick factual books — the sorts of things they don’t get to read in school);
* Fantasy (the hero’s journey speaks to the male “rules and tools” mindset). Sullivan believes it’s never too young to give a boy Tolkien;
* Sports (it is identifiably male – Mike Lupica has done a lot for this area, and Gym Candy was one of the best books in last 5 years for boys lit, according to Sullivan)

See a pattern here yet? These are the things they aren’t getting to read in school. Add to that non-fiction magazines, newspapers, and internet materials (of any variety, truthful or not).

But let’s not get too excited here. One of the things we’re failing to do is understand that our ideas of a good book from a female perspective is different than those of a male’s. We’re getting something different out of these books than boys are, and when we turn to recommend a title to them we’re sure they’d like — the safe choices — we’re giving them books that are for girls (aka, not “boy” writing). As much as librarians like Chris Crutcher and Gary Paulsen, those aren’t boys lit writers. Sullivan called them “girl” writers, despite their intent. As females, we cannot get into the male mind, and as such, we often overlook what’s going to really speak to them. So, we’re trying, but we’re only giving them the half way answer.

Need help now?

Rather than Paulsen, choose Ben Mikaelson (Touching Spirit Bear and others). He is a much, much better adventure writer with real boy appeal. Paulsen focuses too much on emotion and connections. Mikaelson is action and adventure.

Graphic novels – they’re the half-way answer. We need to be giving boys manga. Manga’s often based on mythology (and thus the hero’s journey) and it often spans many volumes. Once they get hooked, they will read as many in a series they can get their hands on, and isn’t that the goal?

Gothic horror – boys want to explore violence because it is SO unnatural and doesn’t make sense in their world (rules and tools). Let them read it. Boys want to start on Stephen King young. There’s a better choice in Darren Shan. The “Cirque du Freak” series is great for 4-6th graders and the “Demonata” series is great for 6-8th grade. 8th grade or older? Give them Stephen King if they ask, and Dark Half is where to begin.

Now that you’ve got an idea of what you should be doing (i.e., reading the books boys love, taking that knowledge, and considering what you recommend), you need to talk to boys about these books. Never fear. It’s not that tough! First off, general book talking rules:

1. Never talk a book you haven’t read;
2. Always talk to the back of the class because the kids at the front are already readers. Sell READING itself more than the book;
3. Book talking is not a review. Sell the book instead of reviewing it.

Now, remember that the boys are in the back and need to be sold on reading. Talk to them:

1. Keep it short (remember they think reading is solitary, feminized, and sedentary and by being lengthy, well, it is);
2. Get the boys involved (read in concert and make it a social activity);
3. Highlight what boys like (in Maniac Magee there is one scene with sports. The book is not about sports but by highlighting that, the book sells itself. Selling it as a book about race relationships goes back to #1);
4. It is EASY to book talk non-fiction. Idea: pick a book of gross facts and ask the audience to pick a number; open to that page and read.

This is so easy, but because we think like females (well, those of us who are female do), we can’t think about these things. But here it is. The secret to helping boys develop an interest in reading.

And remember back to my last post in this series asking about “the” book? For most males, “the” book that turns them on to reading is indeed a fantasy title. For the males I surveyed, often it was Tolkein or something in the Star Wars series. It’s your turn to ask what got them into reading and it’s our responsibility to do that reading, too. We need to be advocates for boys reading, and the only way to do it is to know what they are reading, encourage their reading, and insist that they ARE reading (even if it’s the newspaper). The more we do that, the more they see themselves as reader, and the more likely they will be banging down your door for the 10th installment of Shan’s “Demonata” series.

Although I’ve finished the content of this series, I will bring you one more post in the next week or two with some of the titles Sullivan highlighted — just in time for holiday shopping! I’ll include a bibliography, too, for those of you interested in learning more and reading the research behind this.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any “go to” boy titles? Do these things surprise you at all? Do you disagree at all? Lay it out there!

Where have all the fat girls gone?

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I’ve got a beef with young adult fiction right now, and it’s this — for all we try to do to promote body acceptance, we sure don’t like to show that in our covers. When was the last time you saw a fat girl (or boy – I’m inclusive here) being portrayed in a realistic manner on a cover? I’m loose in defining realistic, too. I just don’t want them being the villain or being the one belittled. Think about all of the covers you see: they’re ALL thin. Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Even if the book doesn’t talk about the weight or shape of a character, the cover makes him/her thin.

Let me give you a little illustration. We can thank the hard-working ALA “Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults” committee for compiling a list of books about body acceptance. I have taken that list and generated a gallery of those covers. For simplicity’s sake and for the sake of not needing to be politically correct here, I am using the term “fat.”

Tell me the trend you see:

Food. There is no fat girl here. The girl in the story is fat.

A rear shot of a boy with his shirt puffed out. We don’t know if he’s fat or not because we don’t see a whole body.

More food and still no fat girl.

Oh, a warning not to eat food. Still no fat girl.

I don’t even know what to say. To be fair, this is an older book with a cover that reflects the art trends of that time. But really? She looks goofy and she’s eating a cookie. You don’t see her body. She’s a floating head. And the skeleton below? Eesh.

2/11/10 Edit: I compiled this post not having read all of these titles. The ones I didn’t read, I tried to glean a sense of the theme from the ALA list. Fat Chance isn’t in the same league as the other titles on this list, but I think that there’s still something to be said for this cover and the EATING aspect. Plus, she has a fat face.

Isn’t this a book where she’s PROUD of being who she is? We get shoes and part of her legs. We don’t know she’s fat.

She’s got a pretty face, but we don’t see that. We see a scale and her feet. Where’s her pretty face and “atrocious body?” I know that the pretty face is meant as something else, but taken in context with the cover, it gives a different impression.

When I pulled this one up, I got excited because we see a fat body! There’s no face though, and quite frankly, she looks goofy and vilified, doesn’t she? Her stance is defensive and unapproachable while the skinny girl next to her is jovial and approachable.

Ahh, we get not only food on this one, but a skinny girl. This is about plus sized modeling and yet, there’s nothing to show that off.

This one, we get a face (which is thin) and a girl in black to cover her “fat.” I don’t think she’s fat at all.

We’re almost there now, except I’d hardly call this fat, either. And we see only her stomach that she’s pinching to make a “fat roll.” Where’s her face? How come we don’t get a full body shot so we can determine she’s really and truly fat?

This butt is curvy — also known as NORMAL. I like this cover, but again, it’s a part of a body rather than a whole person.

Apparently, Lara is so large they couldn’t bear putting an image of a person on the cover. It’s just a shirt dress floating in the wind (thin as air, right?).

I know she’s fat in this one, too, but why isn’t she there? I think that’s a book or something, but regardless, it’s a perfect hour glass shape.

We want good role models for girls to love who they are, but what do we see on every cover? Thin girls or fat girls looking goofy. Why can’t fat girls (and boys!) be on covers like their thin counterparts?

I’m sure you can’t forget the Liar controversy, where the cover featured a white girl when the main character was clearly not white. Why is it we put thin on the cover when the character isn’t (and in some cases is JUST ALRIGHT WITH THAT?).

So I want you to tell me: why can’t we do this? Can you find me a cover with a fat girl who is — how do I say this — a normal, every day person? We know our world isn’t full of perfect bodies and we know we want people to come to love who they are, but if we can’t see it in the world (especially in books that are meant to highlight these said issues) how can we make people believe they are ok?

Edit 9/30/11: This post has generated a lot of discussion recently, and I wanted to lead you to a few follow up posts I’ve written on this subject here and here.

Back Home by Julia Keller

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When I was in college, I majored in Psychology. I’ve always had a fascination with the brain and how it works, so when I saw this new title out by Julia Keller, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. I was very excited to read it. In addition to a story about brain injury, Back Home delves into the contemporary issue of the Iraq War and its impact on families — a topic not quite explored in depth just yet.

Rachel knew something was wrong when her mother sat her, her sister and her little brother down on the couch to talk about their dad. Rachel’s mind ran with the inevitable: her dad was dead.

Dad was a member of the National Guard and had been sent to Iraq. Rachel had the suspicion it could end with his being killed, but it turns out that that may have been easier to deal with. Dad hadn’t been killed, but instead, he sustained a major brain injury and lost a leg and an arm.
It would be a few months before dad would come home, as they were treating him at a national army hospital and giving him therapy to try to resume his normal life.
Upon returning, though, things did not go as planned – because of the massive brain injury, Rachel’s dad had many more challenges ahead of him than she and her family were led to believe.

Back Home is an incredibly powerful story about a family coping with the physical effects of war on a family member. Julia Keller has written many articles about brain injury and the Iraq war, and her expertise is clear in this story. This is not a happily-ever-after book, nor does it pretend to be. It’s an utterly realistic, terrifying, and sad look at the lives of those who are unable to resume life as they knew it before going to war. One of the most memorable and poignant moments occurs when Rachel reflects on the term “vegetable” and what it means in relation to a human being — painful but touching.

I felt like Keller had a lot of characters in the story, and while this was problematic to me as a reader to distinguish among these people, I also felt like it was almost necessary: many of those characters played a real ancillary role in Rachel’s life making them simply a cast to her. But moreover, it almost allowed us as outsiders to feel like her father and his understanding of familiar and not. Additionally, I really wanted a little more to the story, but knowing how important this issue is, I’m not disappointed.

A number of reviews I read on this title were quick to judge it as a “message” novel or one useful for bibliotherapy. While I don’t disagree that there’s a message here or that this book will make an excellent one to hand to someone dealing with a similar issue, I think this is short changing the novel and story itself. There’s a nice metaphor throughout the book about building a fort that goes deeper into a story than into a problem, and I believe that Rachel is constructed strongly enough to be a character rather than an idea. I think much of this may stem from this being a new topic in the YA literature realm and because of Keller’s staccato journalistic writing style. I think going into this believing it is only one thing detracts from the greater story.

So few books explore these issues without getting political, but this is one that manages to stay focused on the issue of brain injury. I found the ending particularly touching and realistic, and I am very eager to see what Keller writes next. Her style is very journalistic, so don’t expect a pretty story; it’s the facts.

*Disclosure: I was informed if I gave a good review to a book, I had to disclose if it came from the publisher. I like to think my reviews are critical enough to make it clear that I’m actually reading to review and not reading to get free stuff. Indeed, I’m almost offended I have to disclose that I got an advanced copy of this title because the reality is I read EVERYTHING critically and am not afraid to share my insights.
I would like to thank Edgmont, though, for providing me this fantastic book. I am eager to share this one with my teens who may be experiencing similar things or know others who are.

Pretty Dead, by Francesca Lia Block

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Pretty Dead was my first Francesca Lia Block, and I was completely blown away by the way she writes. The beautiful words are what make this book worth reading. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Block could write about grass growing and I would be entranced.

Luckily for us, Block chose not to write about her front lawn and instead focused her attentions on the unceasingly popular theme of vampires. Charlotte Emerson is a vampire who lives in modern day Los Angeles. Like most vampires in teen literature, she’s anguished. She chose to become a vampire after the death of her twin brother, Charles, and she’s since realized that this was a mistake. She broke it off long ago with her maker and lover, William, but he’s returned to haunt her. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s friend Emily has died in an apparent suicide and Charlotte is growing ever closer to Emily’s boyfriend, Jared. To top it all off, Charlotte has begun to realize that her perfectly immortal body is going through some very mortal changes.

Many of the people whose reviews I have read of Pretty Dead seem to be disappointed with the book. Much of the criticism I’ve read stems from the fact that Pretty Dead is about vampires, and vampires are just oh so in with the teens nowadays. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know this is true, but what drew me to the book was the twist Block put on the traditional vampire myth – Charlotte the vampire is slowly becoming human. The story explores why and how this might be happening. Beyond that, Pretty Dead also explores the intense loneliness and isolation that accompanies immortality. Charlotte’s life is initially glamorous, especially to her human friends Emily and Jared, but Block forces us to see that such an eternal life is far from desirable. This is very different from the vampire books out there that romanticize the immortal life (while simultaneously pretending to demonize it).

Kelly also pointed out to me that the book seems pretty anti-feminist, with Charlotte’s motivations stemming mostly from a desire to please the men in her life. I can see where people might make this argument, since much of what Charlotte does is determined by her feelings for her brother or her ex-lover, but I think the addition of Emily provides a more complex female relationship that also significantly influences Charlotte’s actions. Long after I finished the book and had figured out Charlotte’s relationships with the men, I was left pondering the meaning behind her relationship with Emily.

Pretty Dead was a great introduction to Francesca Lia Block. It’s a short novel on a popular theme and has given me a taste of the wondrous things Block can do with words. I really cannot say enough about Block’s talent with the English language. In my dreams where I am a published author, I write with the beauty, power, and intensity of Francesca Lia Block. I will definitely be picking up her other books.

One last note: I really really dislike the cover. Aside from the fact that it seems like a blatant ripoff of the True Blood poster, it does not evoke the mood that Block’s words do. The cover makes the story seem salacious, soapy, gossipy. Perhaps this is a good thing for teens who are already hooked on anything vampire, but for those readers looking for something different from the usual vampire story, the cover is not going to make them pick this one up. That’s too bad, because the prose is just so, so achingly beautiful.

What I’m reading, Twitter style (alternatively: Lest you say I only read YA)

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Maybe there’s a hidden theme here, but I suspect it’s a matter of finding a ton of really interesting things to read in succession. Without further ado:

Our Lot by Alyssa Katz: Even-handed history and exploration of real estate and mortgage lending in the U.S. Readable and terrifying and utterly necessary reading.

Generation A by Douglas Coupland: Coupland’s last few titles have been flops for me. This title revisits themes of “Gen X,” but w/ the millennial generation. Fingers crossed.

Back Home by Julia Keller: Father returns home from Iraq War completely different – this is a story of a daughter coping with that change. Keller is an expert on topic.

In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber: History and social commentary on thriftiness as “American.” Delves into why we are cheap but why we are afraid to admit to it.

Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller: New biography of Rand that’s gotten a fair amount of both positive and negative press. Likely contrast to current biogs by her institutions.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: On audio: I’m behind in my listening, but this title, narrated by Gaiman himself, should be a winner. Excited to listen then watch the film.