Reluctant Readers

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University and the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Written for parents and teachers, this accessible book contains a
foreword, five chapters, a conclusion, and an extensive bibliography of
print and nonprint resources for children, as well as a list of
professional titles. There are several user-friendly features, including
Reflection boxes, AuthorLinks, ComputerLinks, ResearchLinks, and many
annotated bibliographies.

Reluctant readers in Grades 3 to 6 are organized into four groups: I
can’t, I don’t know how, I’d rather, and I don’t care readers.
The authors describe strategies and resources that will facilitate the
success of each kind of reluctant reader. Internal and external
inhibitors to reading are discussed, and user-friendly entry points for
reluctant readers are presented. Jobe and Dayton-Sakari identify several
categories of reading resources that appeal to reluctant readers (e.g.,
books with physical interactive movement, books with engaging
information). Each general category is further organized into
subcategories, with short book annotations provided for the examples
listed in each subcategory.

The authors emphasize the importance of providing students with access
to material that meets their interests. For each of the six fields of
interest presented in Chapter 5 (namely, the dark zone; really “hot”
wheels; girl power; yucks, chuckles, jokes; survival; and claws), there
is a web illustrating a range of topics related to the specific entry
point. Again, annotated bibliographies are provided for the various
fields of interest.

The book’s teaching motto is “Go with the kids ... do whatever
works!” That motto is reflected in the practical information and
teaching suggestions that will assist teachers and parents in capturing
and maintaining the interests of reluctant readers. Teachers and parents
will welcome this valuable reference.