This is what we're up against

Yesterday NPR put out a story about a boy who stole Frank Yerby's The Treasure of Pleasant Valley from a library.  The librarian saw him, but rather than confront him she drove across the state to buy more Yerby books so that when he came back there would be another for him to read.

You should go read it right now. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you get back. We blog posts have infinite patience.

Pretty amazing, huh? It's a powerful testament not only to the transformative nature of reading but to the power of an awesome librarian.

We're in a pretty rough place when a boy has to steal a book to preserve his reputation. And this is fifty years ago. Sadly, while there have been many changes in the last half-century, we still face the same basic problem.


Our challenge is two-fold:
1. Write books so compelling and immediate that they can overcome social stigmas against reading.
2. Overcome the stigma itself by demonstrating that boys in the broader world are reading and loving it. This is where the examples set by parents and celebrities are key. (If there are any rappers reading this who want to co-write an adventure book, give me a call . . .)

One of the funnier parts of the NPR story is that Olly Neal was driven to steal the book because of the picture of a scantily clad woman on the cover. Note to cover illustrators: did you ever think a risque cover could transform lives? Well, they can.

We have to be willing to use all of the tools available. And in our quest to promote reading and writing today, we have the new and wonderful tools that have appeared since Olly Neal's childhood: the internet and video games.

More on this, of course, in future posts.

Boyreads Review: The City of Ember

A city has endured for over two hundred years deep underground, lit only by great floodlights and sustained by a river-powered generator and stockpiles of canned food. While the city has survived for two centuries, its supplies are running out, and its generator is breaking down. The City of Ember follows the stories of Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, two teenagers from Ember who join together to solve the mystery of a message left by the city’s builders.

It’s a tightly plotted, intriguing little book.  Author Jeanne DuPrau wields intrigue and rapid pace to keep the pages turning. It succeeds very nicely as an engaging read. Accompanying Lina and Doon as they try to save their city is a welcome escape.

The novel does have its flaws, which are summed up nicely by one of the quotes on the back cover of my paperback edition: “Science fiction for those who do not like science fiction.” As someone who does like science fiction, I did enjoy it, but the city’s operation and the arrangements made by the builders strain credulity in places.  While it was published in 2003, the actual science in The City of Ember would be more at home in early-20th-century science fiction.  Still, none of the flaws damage the essence of the story, which is both riveting and touching.

BoyReads Vital Stats
Age: 9 and up
BoyReads Rating: Glowing

BoyReads Review: Catching Fire

 

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games series, set in a dystopic future where the authoritarian government of Panem rules over twelve downtrodden districts. As a reminder of the Capitol’s power, every year two children from each district are forced participate in an elimination-contest reality TV show that combines the worst aspects of Survivor, American Idol, and the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome. Of the twenty-four participants, only one will survive and return home as a victor. When her younger sister’s name is drawn in the lottery to select participants, District 12 resident Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place and participate in the deadly games.

[Warning: spoilers for the The Hunger Games (Book 1 of the series) in the next paragraph]

The second volume in the series begins as Katniss returns from the original games. The Hunger Games focused on Katniss’s personal survival and the love triangle between Katniss, childhood friend Gale, and Peeta, the boy whom Katniss pretended to love in order to win sympathy from the audience and the gamemakers. While the sequel maintains the danger and excitement of the original, in Catching Fire, Katniss must deal with wider political issues, facing up to her role as the face of an insurgency and a threat to the Capitol’s hold on power.

The word ”gripping” is insufficient to describe this series. These are books that engage the imagination, set off the adrenaline, tug at the heart, and simply can’t be put down. Collins’ prose, honed by years of screenwriting and her previous best-selling series Gregor the Overlander, is masterful. The machinery of her plot moves with deadly precision and the emotional entanglement of the main characters adds an unusual layer of depth and attachment. While I could often see the twists coming, she still managed to include a few surprises, and much of the joy of reading the series is the slow unfurling of Collins’ imagined future.

I recently saw the author at a pre-publication event and one surprising thing I learned is that when she reads the book out loud, Katniss’s voice has an Appalachian drawl which, despite knowing that her home in District 12 falls in that area, had never occurred to me.

The main fault I can find in either The Hunger Games or Catching Fire (as Stephen King pointed out in his otherwise enthusiastic review of The Hunger Games) is that Collins falls prey to a common Science Fiction trope: silly and distracting names.

One thing that is wonderful about this series in the context of BoyReads is that it’s the perfect antidote for boys who won’t read books with female protagonists. It’s exciting, suspenseful, and yes, violent, but at the story’s heart lies a serious emotional complexity that is driven by the female perspective.

One reason that we see so many books that fall into either the “boy book” or “chick lit” category is that it’s often just easier to focus on one area. Suzanne Collins has the rare and valuable ability to roll it all up into one efficient package.

I will end with some words of caution: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games are Young Adult books and may be too intense for younger readers. The movie version will very likely be rated PG-13. On the other hand, for readers who crave the darker and more serious novels may find, as many

BoyReads Vital Stats
Age: 13 and up
BoyReads Rating: Red hot

[disclaimer: These views are entirely my own and I am not compensated by anyone, but I do have a financial relationship with the publisher so feel free to discount everything I say as corporate baloney]

Edu-games: how much edu and how much game?

I had a brief but interesting discussion this week with an administrator for several charter schools in the Midwest. In our discussion I was struck by her description of technology use in the classroom: the schools have technology classes, but don’t use technology directly in other subjects.

We’re using 19^th-century classroom techniques in a 21^st-century classroom. The most noticeable change in modern classrooms seems to be straight one-to-one upgrades like swapping whiteboards for blackboards, which is still far from universal. Technology has been added in as a separate class, not a tool that can improve results in traditional subjects like math, reading, and history.

I don’t believe the lack of technology utilization is the fault of teachers, principals or school boards. There is a vast gap between what is possible and what is actually available. The great promise of educational technology is that it can make learning fun—but game makers just aren’t interested in the educational market.  And because the product isn’t available, there doesn’t appear to be a market for it.

The biggest problem, in my view, is the type of software currently available. Games are either entirely non-educational (popular commercial titles) or focused exclusively on educational goals. Most “edu-games” are just standard exercises dressed up with fancy graphics and sounds. Software makers are trying too hard to make every moment of interaction a learning experience, and they aren't all that successful. All that’s created is an exercise that is more expensive and takes longer and adds no value.

I recently did a quick walkthrough of educational games on the web on the most popular sites. Almost universally, the games had no fun elements, just dressed up work. I think that these games aren’t showing up in classrooms because they’re not that effective. Kids are extremely perceptive—they know what they’re doing and can see that it’s just a math problem with graphics. One game was really that blatant—solve a math problem and watch animated characters play basketball. If you get the problem right, the shot hits, if you get it wrong the shot misses.

The key is to create games that have educational goals as a side-effect of play. Solving problems or experiencing historical events should happen organically as part of a larger interaction that uses one of the many established game mechanics. If your game involves basketball and players aren’t in some way dribbling or shooting, the game itself will be a miss every time.

We must embrace the reality that some of the activity in the game will look like fun and not like learning.

The Future of Reading

Today an article about The Future of Reading is at the top of the New York Times most e-mailed list. The article tells the story of teachers who have taken the radical, unheard—of step of letting their students select books that they actually want to read.

On the one hand it’s an inspiring story of new education methods that excited teachers, students, and parents, and resulted in measurable improvements in reading scores.

On the other hand, it’s a bit depressing. Without the unerring confidence of the principal and the dedication of a teacher who spent $1000 out of her own pocket to fund the program, the project would never have happened. Letting students’ reading habits follow their interests seems like a very basic solution to the challenge of students who are averse to reading. In fact, it’s one that was practiced when I was in school and had been practiced long before that.

Books should be fun, rewarding, and hard to put down, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit it. Reading in school shouldn’t be about indoctrination, a one-size fits all canon, or demonstrating the moral superiority of books with a more literary slant.

It should be about reading and using whatever tools it takes to get there.

This seems an appropriate note on which to start this blog. My goal is two-fold:

1. Create a database of reviews of some of the best books for boys, along with detailed discussion of how they work and why. I will attempt to be equal opportunity, looking at both new releases and classics.
2. Explore a thorny and complex issue: why are many students, especially boys, tuning out of reading and school in general? What is the proper use for materials that are engaging—video games, music, adventure books—and how do we harness those tools to make education worthwhile.

My intention is that this should be useful for a broad audience—anyone interested in the subject matter, either for themselves or for others. My focus will be on books for middle grade and young adult audiences—basically ages 8 to 18.

Evolution is inevitable, but this is my starting point.