How Do We Reach Reluctant Readers ?
By Gretchen King
In a recent interview , award-winning novelist Jason Reynolds divulged he did not read his first novel until he was in college . His words made a lot of sense to me , as I have encountered my share of reluctant readers :
“ We get so focused on literature that we forget the importance of literacy , which means we need to use every single avenue that ’ s open to us …” 1 When asked if he grew up loving to read , surprisingly he said he did not love reading but he learned to love writing early because he fell in love with the lyrics from a song and started to read those lyrics when we had liner notes and that ’ s how he was introduced to poetry as a 10-year old .
A novel is not the only means to increase literacy . Literacy is also about comprehension . Words mean nothing if the reader does not understand what is being communicated . Some children are reluctant to read . Meredith Cicerchia , a writer specializing in topics relating to speech and language difficulties and learning disabilities , writes that reluctance to read may be more common among boys than girls and is more likely to occur in children with learning difficulties who struggle with the mechanics of reading . However , not all reluctant readers are “ bad ” at reading . It might be that a child is simply not interested or has not yet been inspired by books . Some even object to the term “ reluctant reader ” preferring to call them “ dormant readers ” instead . 2 Because interest can drive the urge to comprehend , the librarian ’ s key is to find out what topics interest the reader . Additional ways to entice reluctant readers include text types not often considered literary but which provide that avenue for “ dormant ” readers . These are comics and graphic novels , audiobooks , sports magazines , poetry , wordless picture books , cookbooks , and song lyrics .
COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS Graphic novels tell a complete story via illustrations . A comic book is an excerpt from a larger serialized narrative that is also told via illustration . Famous comics include Archie Comics ( my favorites as a child ), Marvel Comics and DC Comics . Graphic novels differ from comic books in that :
• Graphic novels cover a wide array of genres and subject matter , whereas comic books tend to cover subjects associated with superheroes or heightened realities . 3
• Graphic novels contain complete narratives , whereas comic books contain excerpts of serialized narratives often arriving on a more frequent schedule to the distributor . 4
• Both contain complex characters with detailed backstories and inner conflicts and have a surprising level of complex vocabulary . 5
14 • Saint David ’ s Magazine