Boys and Literacy Resources

Books | Professional Articles | Web Sites | Miscellaneous Resources

Books

Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning. Porthsmouth, HM: Boynton/Cook, 1998.

Atwell, Nancie. The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers. New York: Scholastic, 2007.

Bissex, Glenda. Gnys at Wrk : A Child Learns to Write and Read. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980.

The classic book on how small children acquire literacy. A must-read for elementary teachers and parents. (And notice the order she puts writing and reading in. This runs contrary to the received wisdom about young children's development of literacy, but it's accurate, nonetheless.)

Faber, Adele, and Elaine Mazlish. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. New York: Avon, 1980.

Fletcher, Ralph. Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices. Portland: Stenhouse; Pembroke (Ont): Markham, 2006.

If you are working with young or adolescent boys, you need this book. It addresses many of the issues that teachers of boys face, from aching hands (yes, young boys have weaker fine-motor control) to the sometimes violent nature of boys' interests and writing. Most important, each chapter ends with a section titled "What Can I Do in My Classroom?" which offers practical advice about what individual teachers can do.

Gurian, Michael. Boys and Girls Learn Differently!: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. San Francisco: Wiley, 2001.

Highly recommended because it addresses the needs of both boys and girls from preschool to high school.

Gurian, Michael. The Good Son: Shaping the Moral Development of Our Boys and Young Men. New York: Tarcher-Putnam, 1999.

Gurian, Michael. The Wonder of Boys. New York: Tarcher-Putnam, 1996.

Knowles, Elizabeth, and Martha Smith. Boys and Literacy: Practical Strategies for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents. Westport (CT): Libraries Unlimited, 2005.

I am a little reluctant to recommend this book because it consists mostly of lists of recommended titles, which age quickly, and those lists take no notice of multicultural literature whatsoever. Even so, many school and public libraries may contain at least some of these books, and there are quite a few modern classics here. Fortunately, the section "Strategies for Change" offers a number of valid changes for effecting positive change. At four and a half pages, however, it is far shorter than the book's subtitle would suggest.

Nikkah, John. Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write About Their Inner Lives. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2000.

Consisting of a series of non-fiction pieces and poems written entirely by adolescent boys, this is both a good read and an essential book to have in your classroom to serve as a model for other boys' writing.

Pollack, William. Real Boys : Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. New York: Random HHouse, 1998.

An excellent book that actually shows how and why boys behave as they do, especially with regard to school, family, and relationships.

Sullivan, Michael. Connecting Boys with Books 2: Closing the Reading Gap. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.

One of the best books for discussing what parents, teachers, and librarians can do for young male readers. This is a book I immediately added to my bookshelf. Highly recommended.

Sullivan, Michael. Serving Boys Through Readers Advisory (Ala Readers' Advisory). Chicago: American Library Association, 2010.

Sullivan's latest work; it is currently on my to-read list.

Way, Niobe, and Judy Y. Chu (eds.). Adolescent Boys: Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood.

A series of technical (i.e., with statistics) articles on identity development, family relationships, etc. A bit dry, but interesting nevertheless.

Professional Articles

Doiron, Ray. "Boy Books, Girl Books: Should We Re-organize Our School Library Collections?" Teacher Librarian. 30.3 (2003): 14-16.

King, Kelly, and Michael Gurian. "Teaching to the Minds of Boys." Educational Leadership. 64.1 (2006): 56-61.

Von Drasek, Lisa. "Boy, Oh, Boy -- Books!" Teaching PreK-8. 33.2 (2002): 72-75.

Wilde, Jack. "Learning From Fantasy." Voices from the Middle. 5.2 (1998): 40-42.

Websites

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Miscellaneous Resources