Arm Chair BEA - Tweens and Books

ARM CHAIR BEA

TWEENS AND BOOKS

There is one topic related to books that I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on.  That would be tweens and books.  There has been a good deal of discussion lately on Twitter and on other book blogs about kids and their lack of interest in reading. 

I hear ya’ loud and clear!

I LOVE to read and my idea of a perfect afternoon is a trip to the local library or a bookstore.  Most of my classmates – not so much. 

Here’s the 411.  It’s not necessarily that my classmates do not like to read.  It’s more a case of them wanting to read if they find a book that draws them in.  Once they are drawn in, they are hooked and they read the entire series.

Nearly all of my classmates have read at least some (if not all) of the more popular book series – Harry Potter, The Lighting Thief, and Twilight.  And these are kids who generally don’t seek out big fat books at the library.  If they have the patience to read a giant Harry Potter book, they really must like to read after all.

The problem is, my classmates don’t look past these popular series.  You and I know that there are plenty of other fantastic books out there – in a series and stand alone.  This is the secret that my classmates have yet to learn.  While they seek out the popular books, they often don’t even give the other books a chance. 

So, how do we get these tweens to consider less-known books?

Author appearances at schools, cool book trailers, tween book clubs, author signings, teachers and librarians who recommend new books to their students, parents who take their tweens to the library or bookstore….I could go on and on and on ….

I am also hopeful that book blogs, including mine, will help get the word out to my fellow tweens.  Readers are leaders! 

Melina the leader