Again keeping in line with the genre I write, I thought I'd spend a few minutes talking about boy-based middle grade fiction. Boy-based means that the main character is a boy and the storyline reflects what boys would be more interested in as opposed to girls. But---that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any girls in the story.
The Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series are both examples of boy-based fiction. They both have adventures that are geared more toward boys, but both stories also feature girl characters as well.
Why is boy-based fiction so important? There are studies that show a drop in reading interest in boys during the elementary years and reading tests from the U.S. Dept. of Education show that girls score higher than boys at every age. Reluctant readers tend to be boys. That's why Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Captain Underpants series are so popular (and I bet why they were written - to help those reluctant boy readers get interested in something.)
I'm in no way dissing girls. Hey! I am one. But, I've always been a reader. My oldest son is a reluctant reader, and that is why I write boy-based fiction - for kids like him who need to be interested in reading. Because if you can't read, you won't succeed in life.
What's your favorite boy-based book?
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I enjoy percy Jackson and HP. My son loves the Ranger's Apprentice and the Last Apprentice and will soon read Alex Rider. The warriors. But I think it's the upper mg boy books that are needed for the older boys.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I agree - upper MG is where there could be better books out there. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Harry Potter and the Wimpy Kid. So do my young grandsons.
ReplyDeleteYou found me, now I found you. Hooray!
Wonderful that you write fiction for boys! As a teacher in the elementary school, I know how important it is to get children to read. I have a friend who writes baseball stories for children!
ReplyDeleteMonti
MaryMontagueSikes
Still have never read HP although Jessi has the entire series. Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson is EXCELLENT, as well as his Daniel the Alien Hunter and Witches & Wizards. Jim's favorite series was Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer, the Erogon (sp?) series and another one I can't remember
ReplyDeleteAnn~ HP and Wimpy Kid do delight those young ones. I enjoyed HP, but have a bit of a hard time with Wimpy Kid - too much snarkiness for me.
ReplyDeleteMonti~ I love when teachers stop by. I write stories about hockey since my son plays and there aren't a lot of stories with hockey elements out there.
Heide~ HP is good, but long. I can't believe the world that JK created. Eric used to ask me if I would write like her and I always answered, NO! My brain can't handle that many characters at one time!
I haven't got experience with young adult boy based books except maybe Harry Potter--- and I have two daughters. I'll keep an eye out though
ReplyDeleteFellow A-Z challenger stopping by to say hello. Great post. My son hated to read too, then Percy Jackson caught his interest and it took off from there.
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by from http://cancerandbabyequalschaos.blogspot.com/ to read your "b" entry. Interesting post, i have 2 girls and a baby boy so not had any dealings with boy books YET!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it counts but I'm going to say Trumpet of the Swans...a wonderful story about a boy but also appealing to girls. And of course Where the Red Fern Grows which was essentially a boy story but my girls and I sobbed our way through too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting...I'm visiting back : )
My daughter loves Percy Jackson and Wimpy Kid. I always thought boy based books were a better route to take for MG lit anyway. I read somewhere that most often, boys will read boy based books but not girl based books, but girls will read both.
ReplyDeleteCindy~ I think girls tend to read more girl-based stories, but that they are willing to cross over to boy-based stories. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteTrisha~ Gotta love those books that get those reluctant readers reading. :)
Ally~ Someday that boy of yours will be reading, and hopefully it'll be one of my books! Just kidding...well, not really. :)
Joyce~ Even though my main characters are always boys, there is usually one or two girls who play very important roles as well. Trumpet of the Swan and Where the Red Fern Grows are wonderful books!
Christina~ I agree; boys will read boy books, but shy away from girl books. I try to include both genders in my stories to attract boys. There is a girl on our hockey team, and I'm always aware of including girls in my stories. I've written one that doesn't include a girl, but has three boys as the main characters. Sort of like a brat pack.
My son loves to read. He reads tons and tons of books but here's the weird thing - he didn't do well in reading on the test they are given but excelled in everything else. Makes me wonder if they need to revise the test for boys because they are interpreting the questions differently than girls.
ReplyDeleteI love that there is a movement for boy based books. I have three sons. (= My two oldest are readers. Thanks to series like Artemis Fowl and Fablehaven, etc.
ReplyDeleteI never really made to connection about boy-based books but I do have a solid love for HP, like the rest of the world!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I don’t know if it that boys are reluctant or that they just are enough books for boys in middle grades. In the bookstore almost every books is geared to girls. That’s why I really love the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter books, more boys were reading. There is another good one about missions to Mars but I can’t remember the series.
ReplyDeleteYep, we need more boy books. They seem to be even more lacking in YA.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is one of my favorites, and when I was a middle school teacher it was nice to see some of my most reluctant readers get excited about it. I think finding good boy-based books they're comfortable with also gives them the confidence to branch out into other books as they get older. Thanks for a great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog today! Also, I'm a middle school reading teacher, and I agree that boy-based books are needed to motivate our male readers. I haven't gotten into the Wimpy Kid books myself, but our librarian can't keep them on the shelves, so I guess if I were an adolescent boy... :)
ReplyDeleteKimberly~ That's interesting what you said about your son's reading test. I wonder where the discrepancy lies?
ReplyDeleteJo~ I'm pretty sure God gave me boys instead of girls, and writing boy-based fiction is one of the reasons!
Jennee~ I think if you don't have sons or aren't a teacher, then the connection wouldn't be one that you would be looking for.
Holly~ You may be right. Perhaps when there are more boy-based stories out there, we won't have this discrepancy between girls and boys in reading.
Jennifer~ I'm hoping that as my boys grow, my voice will grow along with them. I had a great idea for a story about a ten-year-old boy, but my oldest son was only four! I had no clue what a 10yrold liked or how they spoke, no matter how many Disney movies or shows I watched. It seems easier for me to get into that younger voice when I have to listen to it all of the time.
Kendal~ I completely agree with me!
Whitney~ LOL - yes, I wish I were an adolescent boy so I could play hockey - that's part of the reason I write about hockey players!
Thanks for stopping by today everyone. It's been a great discussion.
Great minds think a like! B is for books and boys.
ReplyDeleteI loved any boy-based fiction when I was a boy. If I were to write for a younger crowd I'm sure I'd be writing boy-based stories since that it what I could relate to most easily.
ReplyDeleteContrary to my usual practice of subscribing to comments, to save time during challenge I will not be doing so during April. If you want to respond to my comment , please email me directly from your email notification for the comment.
Thanks.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge
Joyce~ Yes, I agree!
ReplyDeleteArlee~Thanks for stopping by!
I'm currently reading Captain Underpants to my 5 year old son and he is super excited about them. I read and loved all of the Harry Potter books.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Thanks for the Surprise button heads up! I have one now too!
we need more boy based books - i have 3 readers always looking. they like mike lupica, sports books
ReplyDeleteIt seems everything is geared toward girls these days...it's so much easier finding things that interest my daughter. My critique partner and I were just discussing this on Thursday. I'm happy to meet someone who is actively writing for boys! Thanks for visiting Raising Marshmallows, I'm now following!
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say the Harry Potter books, and I'm trying to remember how old the boys were in "How to Eat Fried Worms." I seem to recall liking that book. The consensus I've heard is that there is a shortage of MG and YA books for boys, so with a son and daughter I'd love to find a way to remedy that (though I focus on YA).
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the A to Z Challenge!
I also like Gordon Korman's books, e.g. the Everest or Dive series, Kidnapped, and On the Run series. Great books for boys because they are relatively short and full of action.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I work in a public library, and I've seen time and again boys (8-10) struggle to find books they're interested in. I agree with all the suggestions - Korman, Lupica, Rowling, Pilkey... and for some of the younger boys I recommend David Adler's Cam Jansen series or anything by Louis Sachar.
ReplyDeletethankyou for visiting commenting and following on my blog. My son was never interested in reading much, but loved technical magazines and anything with diagrams giving details on how things are made. At 21 he's begun buying broken cameras, pulling them apart and adapting the lenses to take different kinds of photos (sounds weird, but it works and is interesting) He still doesn't enjoy reading, but loves talking books and pod casts.Sue@JumpingAground
ReplyDeleteI have a reluctant reader too (also a boy), they are definitely picky when it comes to what they read. While as a girl, I would/will read about anything.
ReplyDeleteHe did devour the Percy Jackson series a book or two a week. He couldn't get enough of that series.
I think as they get older, boys get even more picky about what they read.
~2
Thanks everyone who stopped by!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris! My 9 year old loves Bone and we have just discovered Bone chapter books. He received (from Santa!) two Judy Blume books...Tales of a fourth grade nothing (of course) and Super Fudge. He has just finished reading the fourth Fudge book. He has also enjoyed the Goblin Series (Stone Goblins etc).
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking in for a cup of Joe this morning! Looking forward to the rest of the alphabet!
I know I'm late to this post but had to comment on it. While I don't know much about middle grade in general, I did read A World Without Heroes (ARC of it) and I think that one is boy based though one chapter was from a girl's pov. I write YA and adult, and the YA ones I tend to do Boy main characters. I just haven't determined if they still count as "boy" books because they are gay boys. It's important to have all kinds of books available for the variety of people looking for a great book to read.
ReplyDeleteKim ~ My older son read the Bone graphic books. I didn't know there were chapter books. I'll have to check those out.
ReplyDeleteDawn~ I think they would count as boy-based fiction. Just because a character is gay doesn't disqualify his gender - he's still a boy.
Thanks for stopping by!