Atlanta, GA - The latest report card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that boys are continuing to fall behind girls in reading skills. But some teachers and librarians across the country say there’s one kind of book popular with adolescent boys that may encourage them to read more. They’re called “graphic novels.”

What does 10-year-old Bryce Holden look for in a book? “Action,” he says, “[Books in which] there’s like, fighting, and stuff like that - which boys like a lot.”

That’s why he loves ‘graphic novels.’ Covering topics from fantasy warriors to biographies of past presidents, graphic novels tell their story with pictures as much as words. And many ‘classic’ novels, like Moby Dick, have been adapted to graphic novel form.

“They deal with the same issues that prose novels do,” says Sadie Mattox, M.A., a children’s literacy expert. “They have a lot of the same ‘meat,’ they’re just drawn.”

The advantage, say experts, is that often kids will grab a graphic novel when otherwise they wouldn’t read at all.

“It seems a little more accessible,” says Mattox. “You also have kids who are visual, much more visual kids than textual. So those kids will come when they open it up. And at that age, they almost are tricked into thinking, ‘oh, I’m reading a comic book.’”

And Bryce’s mother, Lynn Holden, says reading an adapted graphic novel usually sparks an interest in the original. “He likes to read them and compare them,” she says. “He’s read a lot of the condensed classics in novel form - and then he goes on to want to read the full text one, later.”

For example, he recently read both versions of the ‘Wizard of Oz’.”

“It was basically the plot was the same, and everything was the same, except shorter,” says Bryce.

Experts say for children who are reluctant to read, parents should bring them to the graphic novel section of the local bookstore or library and take a look.

“I would encourage parents and kids to pick one up,” says Mattox, “Not to see them as something less valuable than, say, an actual novel or prose novel. Because a lot of these are really good quality.”
Tips for Parents

Fewer teens are reading for fun today than in 1971. That statistic from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) is significant because reading for fun is considered an important factor in improving teens’ reading comprehension. Although the literacy movement in the United States is strong, the American Library Association (ALA) says it is focused primarily on elementary school-aged children.

“Reading development is a continuum,” according to the ALA, “yet emphasis on literacy decreases after elementary school.”

Consider these facts about teens and reading from the NAEP:

* The latest reading test scores from the NAEP show that children scored lower in reading than in 1992.
* The percentage of students performing at or above Basic decreased from 80 percent in 1992 to
73 percent in 2005, and the percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level decreased from 40 to 35 percent over the same period of time.
* Higher average reading scores were generally associated with higher levels of parental education. Students who reported that at least one parent graduated from college scored higher than students who reported lower levels of parental education.
* In 2005, female twelfth-grade students scored 13 points higher on average in reading than male students.

The Rand Reading Study Group cites this additional reading research:

* All high school graduates are facing an increased need for a high degree of literacy, including the capacity to comprehend complex texts, but comprehension outcomes are not improving.
* Unacceptable gaps in reading performance persist between children in different demographic groups. The growing diversity of the U.S. population will likely widen those gaps even further.

How can teens improve their reading skills and learn to enjoy reading more? The ALA says that parents and teachers need to help teens realize the value of reading in their lives by providing them with the following elements:

* Time: Teens need specific opportunities to schedule reading into their days.
* Choice: Choosing their own reading materials is important to adolescents who are seeking independence.
* Support: Time and choice mean little if no support exists. Support includes actions like bringing books to the classroom, arousing children’s interest in reading, reading aloud selections and fostering student-to-student and student-to-adult conversations about what is read.

Ten million American children have difficulties learning to read, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD). Of those, 10-15% eventually drop out of school, and only 2% complete a four-year college program.

Children with reading difficulties stop and start reading frequently (known as choppy reading), mispronouncing some words and skipping others entirely. They soon grow ashamed as they struggle with a skill their fellow students seem to master easily. Reading-impaired children also experience difficulty exploring science, history, literature, mathematics and other information that is available in print.

NICHD research shows that reading disabilities affect boys and girls at about the same rate. However, boys are more likely to be referred for treatment since they are more likely to get the teacher’s attention by misbehaving. Reading disabled girls may escape the teacher’s attention and withdraw into themselves.
References

* American Library Association
* National Institute of Child Health and Development
* National Institute for Literacy
* Rand Reading Study Group

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