GUEST POST: Reading: Bridging the Gender Gap

Written by Jennifer McQuillan

For as long as I can remember, I have loved books:  Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Misty of Chincoteague, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew… Kansas, Prince Edward Island, Chincoteague, the little brown house…Laura, Anne, Diana, Maureen, Mamsie, sweet little Phronsie.  These are the stories I loved, the places I wanted to visit, the characters I wanted to meet… and wanted my children to know and love as I do.

But I am the mother of two boys, and these books, these places, these characters, they are for girls!  They are for other mothers to share with their daughters… or are they?  These are well-written books, well-developed characters, stories full of fun, adventure, and even a bit of mischief.  These are classics, stories meant to be shared and to be enjoyed by all children, girls… and boys!

The trouble is, as parents we hear over and over that these stories don’t appeal to boys, that boys don’t enjoy reading because we are forcing them to read books that do not match their reading styles or their interests.  In her book, The Trouble with Boys, Peg Tyre specifically singles out Little House on the Prairie as a book boys “don’t want to read.”   The internet is full of related posts on some notable sites that echo the same sentiments… and for some reason, they all use Little House on the Prairie as the example of what boys don’t want to read.

The thing is, as it turns out, my boys LOVED Little House on the Prairie.  When I finally got around to ignoring public sentiment and sharing a few of my best-loved childhood books with my boys, it turned out they truly enjoyed the stories.  We started with Farmer Boy, the childhood story of Almanzo Wilder, the future husband of Laura Ingalls, and his brothers.  The pages were packed with fun, adventure, and boyish mischief described in the beautiful flowing language that makes a classic.  My boys were so taken with the story that the minute we finished, they demanded we head to the library for another one.

From there we read (or listened to) all nine Little House on the Prairie books.  The boys so enjoyed reading about Laura and her adventures that when we had finished the series, they moved on to the television DVDs (they’ve watched 5 full seasons to date).  My nine-year-old then found several other related books at the library and began to read those on his own.  In fact, the boys became so fascinated by Laura and her life out west, that their grandmother started researching related vacation ideas:  in September, we’ll all be traveling to Mansfield, Missouri for Wilder Days.  And to think, I almost passed up an opportunity to share these wonderful stories with the boys!

Still hesitant to share such stories with your boys?  Sure they won’t enjoy them?  Tried it before and they weren’t captivated?  Here are a couple of things to consider before you give in to Captain Underpants, the “books boys want to read” example of choice for those same critics mentioned above.

First, many of these classic stories are written with beautiful, descriptive language; language that truly enables the reader to know the characters, visit the towns, and live the adventure.  With this lovely language, however, come long, flowing sentences that are longer than what boys at the ages these books are often introduced (third and fourth grades) are familiar and comfortable with.

Second, these classic stories, unless abridged, are relatively long chapter books; they are not larger-print, simple chapter books that follow a ten chapter rule cover to cover.

Third, while many of these classic stories do include simple pen and ink drawings, they are not colorful, and they are not visually stimulating.

Why are these important?  Well, boys, in general, tend to be visual.  They are oftentimes overwhelmed by too many words, too many chapters, and too few illustrations.  When they are handed a copy of Little House on the Prairie, they are discouraged and disconnected before they read the first word.  They begrudgingly begin the book, bemoaning having to read this book for girls.  They never give the story a chance.

One way around this is to listen to unabridged audio books.  My boys have willingly, even anxiously, listened to disc after disc of stories that many would say are girls’ stories:  Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Misty of Chincoteague, The Four Story Mistake, and Charlotte’s Web, just to name a few.  And before you suggest my boys are unusual, they aren’t.  Since making this discovery with my boys, I’ve shared my experiences with several other moms who then shared the stories with their boys, all with similar results!.

So, while Peg Tyre and others, may be correct in stating that Little House on the Prairie is not a book most third-grade boys want to sit and read, it is unfortunate that they have concluded this is because of a disinterest in the story.  More likely, it is simply that their first impression of the book is one of overwhelm.  When it comes to reading practice, by all means, allow your son to read books he finds more comfortable:  The Magic Treehouse series, The Boxcar Children series, comic books, non-fiction books, even Captain Underpants, if you’re so inclined, but don’t deprive him of classics like Little House on the Prairie because someone told you only girls enjoy those books.  It’s just NOT TRUE!  Take advantage of the incredible talents of audio book narrators and listen to the stories together.  Your boy may then surprise you, as mine did, when one day he shows you that he is half-way through reading Little House in the Big Woods on his own, because a familiar much-loved story is no longer threatening, no matter how many words are on a page.

Jennifer is a homeschooling Mom of two boys… who both love reading or being read to… now.  That wasn’t always the case.  She also holds a PhD in school psychology which she puts to use every day educating her boys.  She blogs about living and learning with two active, inquisitive boys at Adventures in McQuill-land.  Join her for a new blog series:  Adventures in Summer Reading