Book Review: Best Books for Boys by Pam Allyn

Title:  Best Books for Boys

Author:  Pam Allyn

Publisher:  Scholastic Teaching Resources

Publish Date:  May 1, 2011

Synopsis (from Goodreads):   Get all boys reading with this extraordinary guide—chock-full of a wide range of must-read titles organized by interest, age, and development. With this resource in hand, you'll never again struggle to find the right book for even your most reluctant readers. The carefully chosen book selections are accompanied by brief explanations of each book, and a recurring feature, Talk About It, will help you extend the book through conversation, supporting and enhancing the reading experience. In addition, ready-to-use lessons align with themes and topics of special interest to boys that will motivate and inspire them to read more. Finally, Pam answers your most pressing questions about the challenges for boys as readers and shows you how you can maximize environments, routines, and structures to ensure that boys are reading widely and passionately. For use with Grades K-8.

My Thoughts:  I was contacted to read and review this book and as a homeschooling parent (of 2 boys) and a former preschool teacher, I thought it would be right up my alley!  

This book was easy to read and very informative.  I loved the explanation of the different reading styles that boys have.  It really helped to realize that each of my boys has a different reading style and lists different, sometimes non-traditional materials to read.

This book was a great reference for different books out there for kids.  It was broken down by genres, which was great since my older boy loves adventure/mysteries!  I was able to go to that genre and pick out the books I thought he would like.  Of course, what was really great was when my son actually DID like the books that I had brought home from the library. 

I have to be honest here...my boys love to read so it really isn't an issue for me to find them books they like.  They will spend time reading without me telling them too.  However, as a teacher I have run into times when I could not bribe a kid to read with the biggest candy bar!  This is a great resource in helping these boys pick out books that will help them develop the love of reading.

This is a great book for teachers!  It helps them set up their classrooms with the books that will be most interesting to the kids.  As a parent, I found it just as helpful though!  I have a list of books that my 8 year old has written out for me that he wants to read now.  I love that it was encouraging too!  There was no bashing the parent or teacher for their child not liking to read.  It was full of great information on how to help each boy learn to love to read, from the list of different books to how to set up the classroom/reading area to make the boys comfortable!

The best part of this book...it was filled with popular books!  It wasn't just boring, old classics (not that their is anything wrong with those...I personally love them) but books that boys will find entertaining from the cover!  I was able to find the books easily at my library, local book store and even our local USED book store!  A truly amazing book for both teachers and parents!

Get this book at Amazon.com here:  http://tinyurl.com/3mmfpwb