TWEEN READING

What can we do to help tweens become lifelong readers?

The W’s of Tween Reading

Who are they?What do they read?Where do they read?When do they read?Why do they read?

Myths about Reading

Kids must read only “good” books. Readers are easy to spot. Reading levels are a good way to match kids and books. Canned reading programs can create readers. Once kids are readers, reading aloud isn’t necessary. Kids can automatically distinguish between good and

bad literature. Reading is a sciene that can be broken down into

components relevant to everyone. Reading is the same no matter what we read. One size fits all – there is one book for all readers.

Development of Readers

Unconscious DelightReading AutobiographicallyVicarious ExperiencePhilosophical SpeculationAesthetic Experience

Making the Match

Book Variables

Genre

Style

Format

And also . . .

Titles

Covers

Authors

Opening Paragraphs

Compelling Plot

Kid Variables

Reader Status

Avid

Dormant

Reluctant

Struggling

Gender

Adapted from Teri Lesesne

Books with Tween AppealGenres and Gender

Books Are Judged by Their Covers

Compelling Titles

Al Capone Does My ShirtsNose Pickers from Outer SpaceNever Trust a Dead ManDefine NormalThe Lightning ThiefInvasion of the Road WeeniesThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

T-A-R-G-E-T

T = TrustA= AccessR = ResponseG = GuidanceE = EnthusiasmT = Tween-Appeal

Adapted from Teri Lesesne

Subliterature: Don’t Be A Serial Killer

Popular Culture Series

Hannah MontanaBatmanStar WarsHigh School Musica???

Magazines

Girl’s LifeDiscovery GirlsAmerican GirlJ-14Mad MagazineSports Illustrated for Kids/Sports IllustratedGame ProShonen Jump/Shojo Beat

Comic Books

Superheroes – Batman, Superman, X-MenScooby-DooLooney TunesArchieCN Block Party

Radical Change in Youth Fiction

Changing Forms and Formats

Changing Perspectives

Changing Boundaries

From Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age by Eliza Dresang

“Readers are not born; they develop . . . Selecting the right book for the right reader is complicated. If we are to be successful in making the match, we need to know the readers and the books.”

-- Teri Lesesne

Making the Match

Working with Tweens can be just as fun and rewarding as it is challenging!

“Youth's a stuff will not endure.”

--Clown, Act II, scene iii, Twelfth Night