by Fonda Ippolito

Created on: November 05, 2009

It is a widely accepted truth that children who read for fun do better in school than those that do not. Studies have shown again and again that free reading, or reading for fun, is often the source for much of our vocabulary and spelling development, as well as our ability to understand sophisticated phrases and write coherent prose.

As parent's we don't need scientific studies to know that our kids should read. What we need is some sound advice on getting them to do it. This is especially true if we are parents of preteen and teenage boys. With the constant stimulation of television, movies and video games, how do we pry the controller and/or remote out of our son's fingers long enough to get him to pick up a novel?

As a youth librarian for more than ten years, I have often bore witness to the struggle between parents and their sons in the battle of the book. What usually surprises me regarding this literacy tango is that most of the time, these parents are not only trying to force reading onto their child but they are continuously attempting to choose what the kid reads. Furthermore, they are choosing reading material based on all the wrong recommendations.

The first thing to remember when looking for books for your preteen boy is this simple truth: just because a book has an award sticker on it, doesn't mean every child will love it. Keep in mind that the people responsible for choosing the recipients of book awards are usually adults. The Newberry Medal, for example, is given to a book selected by the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children, a board of, you guessed it, adults. Also helpful to keep in mind is the fact that many of the most read children's books have never won a prestigious national award. Neither J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) nor Cornelia Funke (Inkheart) ever received a Newberry or a Printz. A good rule of thumb while looking for the best book for your preteen boy is to simply stick to what he likes outside of reading.

Does you child spend hours playing video games? Does he live, eat, and breathe "Halo," "Gears of War," or "Doom"? If your answer is a resounding but frustrated, Yes! then listen up. Six licensed novels based on the "Halo" series have been published to date. Karen Traviss has penned two novels based on the blockbuster Xbox game "Gears of War." There is a four part series of novels based on "Doom" and two more on "Doom 3." If your son plays the games, he will love discovering the world and

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