Guys Read

http://www.guysread.com/ Guys Read is a web-based literacy program for boys founded by author and First National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature Jon Scieszka. If you are looking to beef up your classroom bookshelf with books for boys, check out the guysread website. It has a plethora of book suggestions that will appeal to boys. They claim to have put some research into what guys actually like – so it's worth a try, right? It is American research, but I think that Canadians must be comparable in terms of stats. Jon Scieszka mentions that “boys don’t have enough positive male role models for literacy. Because the majority of adults involved in kids’ reading are women, boys might not see reading as a masculine activity.” This was very thought provoking. I thought about my my own kids – I do most of the reading at bedtime. I thought about the elementary school system – mostly women. I guess maybe he is right on this observation!