All the latest research tells us that children emulate what they see.  If you wish to have an avid reader you need to model the behavior and read.  For boys this means they need to see their father, an older brother, an uncle sit down and read a book.

In most cases this is a great start though some boys just are to physically active to stop and sit quietly to read.  They need a captivating subject to help them enjoy a little quiet time with a good book.  Just as we do, I would never sit down and read a treatise on manufacture of machining tools it’s is just not my cup of tea.

Now let’s stop and think we enjoy reading fiction because we are able to see ourselves as the central character.  Unfortunately very little fictional children’s books are written with boys preferences in mind.  Reading does not need to be restricted to fiction, or books.

Books that spark an interest in a reluctant reader may not be literary masterpieces.  A story (or a book) is words on a page.  Reading involves decoding the words on that page to make meaning.

We all know that boys like the ghoulish, the gross and the disgusting.  How often does it appear in children’s books?  Often it is sanitized so as not to offend adult sensibilities.  Numerous titles that attempted to recount a story about the messy and the horrible have attracted criticism even being outright banned.

What as adults we value in a book is not necessarily what boys want to read.  We must be prepared to let boys find materials (books) they want to read before asking them to broaden their view with reading award winning materials.

Keep in mind; you can foster a love for reading by reading to your boys as much as having him read on his own.  You can choose to read to him some of those “quality” stories.  Doing so will allow you to explain the meaning of complicated words; you can discuss the meaning, elaborate on the intent and more.

I have found a number of authors that my son just loves to read.  He still prefers when we read together trading off each of us reading every other page.  Personally I am just glad that he has gotten to the point were he wants to read rather than being read to.

Lastly I would like to point you to a few websites that offer suggested reading materials for boys.

http://www.booksforboys.com/" target=”_blank” >Books for boys
http://www.guysread.com/" target=”_blank” >Guys Read
http://www.boysread.org/books.html" target=”_blank” >Boys Read

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