On September 15 I participated in a School Library Journal webinar titled Books for Boys, hosted by Jon Scieszka. He began by giving a shout out for his Guys Read website, and the new Guys Read book series; then he turned it over to representatives from Simon & Schuster, Random House Audio, and Candlewick Press.
While it was basically a 60-minute commercial for the sponsoring companies, I did find out about a few interesting titles that I was previously unaware of, and some audiobooks that sound as if they are high-quality recordings.
Books I’d like to get for my library include The Dunderheads, Robot Zot, Superhero Joe, the Scream Street series, the Guardians of Childhood series (featuring Nicholas St. North, aka Santa!), and the Jack Blank series. (Goodness, where have I been that I’m unfamiliar with all of these??)
Audiobooks I’d like to get for my library include Jeremy Bender vs the Cupcake Cadets, the Alvin Ho series, The Tanglewood Terror, the Five Ancestors series, the Nicholas Flamel series, and Okay for Now.
I did think it was a bit ironic that, even though you hear constantly that boys tend to prefer non-fiction over fiction, literally every title mentioned in this webcast was either a picture book or a chapter book! I can’t remember a single non-fiction book that was recommended! I don’t think any of them were even graphic novels!
The archive is now available if you’d like to view and/or download the presentation. (You will have to register to access the site.) You can also visit Guys Listen to request a free sampler CD. And please consider leaving a comment to share your favorite books for boys!