tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post4848430589927713206..comments2024-01-28T08:09:15.661-05:00Comments on Caribbean Children's Fiction: Boys again!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15503177269664255924noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post-2750180468984217172011-09-21T09:02:37.465-05:002011-09-21T09:02:37.465-05:00You would think that with all the talk about incre...You would think that with all the talk about increasing/improving literacy the Ministry of Education would come up with a plan to encourage/publish hi-lo books. Maybe it exists or is being planned and we don't know - this sometimes happens unless one has inner contact with the right people. Surely the ASTEP programme should need such books both fiction and non-fiction.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15503177269664255924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post-13097167865020270562011-09-20T21:13:06.017-05:002011-09-20T21:13:06.017-05:00Hi-Lo stories were my starting point. I wrote quit...Hi-Lo stories were my starting point. I wrote quite a few for the boys I was helping with reading. Some of them were 'written' by the boys with themselves as protags. The only way these will get published is if I publish them. No one else is going to publish books for people who can barely read and don't buy books. <br /> Re boys reading: in the JLS reading competition, girl parish winners outnumbered boys 11:1.<br />Did you see it? It's on again Wed 21st at 5:30.Billy Elmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12263892669511025630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post-41406706959983942482011-09-17T12:19:20.080-05:002011-09-17T12:19:20.080-05:00Thanks for joining the conversation, Helen. I want...Thanks for joining the conversation, Helen. I want to isolate this part of your comment<br />"The content of reading material is geared to a reading age corresponding to chronological age, so is too babyish for boys who learn to read late."<br /><br />I have been thinking that we need to produce more hi-low books which would help with this problem. Here is a definition from the Internet of hi-low books for those who do not know about this.<br />"The term "hi-lo book" refers to books that are at the reader's interest level (“hi” stands for “high interest”) but written at a lower reading level (“lo” stands for “low readability”) to encourage reading. Kids and teens reading below grade level are more apt to want to read a book if it is not only at their reading level but also at their interest level.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15503177269664255924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post-886681842595887662011-09-16T22:00:02.044-05:002011-09-16T22:00:02.044-05:00This post is most welcome and deserves input from ...This post is most welcome and deserves input from a variety of readers. My own thoughts are that boys don't find the early stages of reading to be enjoyable, because of the circumstances in which they are taught (e.g. overcrowding and lack of positive reinforcement). <br />The content of reading material is geared to a reading age corresponding to chronological age, so is too babyish for boys who learn to read late.<br />As Hazel mentioned, their role-models are not reading, so boys consider reading to be a 'girl thing'. Boys would prefer to be outside playing football, or inside playing video or computer games, or watching TV. They do however like to read comics.<br />As long as boys are reading something, I don't see that preferring non-fiction to fiction should be frowned on. <br />Hazel, you've prompted me to write my own blog about this topic. I will include some more book suggestions there.Billy Elmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12263892669511025630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-553792012762158537.post-7249649960950933422011-09-05T15:49:46.789-05:002011-09-05T15:49:46.789-05:00Most interesting - the usual excellent quality of ...Most interesting - the usual excellent quality of writing 'about and around (meaning covering all surfaces)' a topic, that we have come to expect from you. There is also a great deal to think about here, especially for one (me) who knows that part of getting boys to read is to have a male protagonist, but mainly writes stories with girl protagonists. I espcially liked the part where your grandson could not understand what was intersting about the particular 'chick book', and you were unable to explain it to him. And therein lies the difference. I do hope that there is a dialogue about this topic, as you have suggested. I'm going to think about it a bit before I respond to 'why we think boys should read fiction'.Diane Brownehttp://dianebrowneblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com