Boys and Books: What You Need to Know and Do So Your 9- to 14-Year-Old Son Will Read

Most people will agree that an alarming number of 9- to 14-year-old boys don’t read in their spare time. When asked why this is the case, the typical response is, “Boys just don’t like to read!”

In Boys and Books, Hillary Tubin turns this response on its head. She shares why she believes boys aren’t reading for pleasure in their spare time, what can be done to change this trajectory, and why it matters so much for their present day academic performance and future success.

According to Tubin, parents play a critical role in helping preteen and early teen boys form habits so that they will read. The challenge, she discovered, is that many parents of self-proclaimed non-reading boys don't have the awareness, knowledge, tools or support they need to transform the non-reading habit into the reading habit.

Drawing on groundbreaking research and her experience as a literacy teacher who spent 20+ years reading, researching and talking to boys about their reading lives, Hillary Tubin shows parents exactly what they need to know and do so their sons will read, succeed and thrive today and in their adult lives in this information-driven world.

In this book, parents will learn:

• Why boys view reading as pain instead of pleasure (and how to re-define reading as pleasurable for them)
• Why it's imperative to help boys re-shape reading and include it in their lives today
• How to think, plan, support and initiate reading like a coach
• The 10 building blocks it takes to develop the boy-responsive reading mindset and create the boy-responsive reading environment boys need to read

It's not too late for preteen/early teen boys to imagine reading as a beneficial and enjoyable habit that they want to do in their spare time. By committing to the action steps presented, parents will gain awareness, knowledge and confidence to instill the 30-minute-a-day reading habit in their sons.