What Boys Think

No offense to men and boys, but it seems to me there are a lot more women/girls who really get into reading. Who would list it as a hobby or favorite pastime. Who would say: "Reading relaxes me."

Carter was one of those boys who only read when he had to for school. But then a few years ago, he had to read books beyond school books for an Accelerated Reader program. This opened his eyes to the world of books. Sort of.

What he learned is what all of us readers have learned. Not every book tells a good story. Some are poorly written and others just don't hold subject matter of interest (to that particular reader).

It has been fun to see him connect with certain authors. And I'm serious about that. If likes a book by one, then the next 3 AR books he reads are by the same author. (I guess I do that, too, to some extent!) I give much credit to the children's authors who find a way to really connect to the mind of a pre-teen boy. Enough to know what boys think. Enough that boys are interested, entertained and known to say, "This book is the best ever! You have to read it, Mom!"

This school year has been quite the turn-around that way. Now my kid is recommending books to me! I skipped over the Diary of a Wimpy Kid selection. Entertaining, I'm sure, but not much meat. Over Spring Break, I read one called Zach's Lie, which was a story of a boy and his family in the witness protection program. Pretty interesting even for an adult to read.

Now I am reading Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Carter was first turned onto this when his class took a field trip and saw the movie version this spring. Then he read the book over Spring Break and we ordered the whole series. I am not into mythical gods and monsters, but I'm a team player so I will read it through. I can see why he likes it. The main character is a 12-year-old boy, after all. He insists that even if he doesn't get them all read by the end of the school year, he'll keep reading them this summer. I believe that. I just think it's interesting how his storyline "interests" are all over the board. That's good. He won't get bored.

Now, just to show you how those lucky authors can connect to an almost 12-year-old boy but parents can't...

Carter needs to find a news story that illustrates cause and effect and resolution. I said the volcano in Iceland is a perfect example. It caused air traffic hangups and they are using warships and other methods of transportation to resolve it. Sounds like a perfect example doesn't it?

Nope. Not as good as the Celtics' Kevin Garnett getting in a fight the other night which caused his suspension from tonight's NBA playoff game!

Duh, Mom. Of course that's what boys think about!