Great book news for those with reluctant readers

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I'm very excited to have found another series of books like the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series.  I'm often asked if there are other books like them (which are hugely popular among boys in Year 3 and 4 - for many of them, these are the only books they've read recently).  I've often asked myself, as a children's librarian, if there are any other books like them.

The books are called 'Big Nate:  In a class by himself' and 'Big Nate strikes again' by Lincoln Peirce.  Big Nate was originally a comic strip published in the New York Times.  Another book is due out in August 2011.  They are very similar to 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - have that level of irreverence and naughtiness that appeals to this age group.  Big Nate also has an island on Poptropica - the popular online game for this age group.  Lincoln Peirce was apparently a hero of Jeff Kinney's (author of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid') and Kinney has always looked up to him.


So if you're into writing comic strips, there is a huge potential in this market and as a desperate librarian who has enormous problems getting boys in this age group to read anything (teachers would agree) - time to get cracking!  We really need more of this kind of stuff to be published.  Not classy, high brow stuff that we might prefer our kids to be reading, but - hey, if it gets them reading that's what counts.

Comments

Katie said…
Come on Jenny - I reakon you could start writing some comic strips in all your spare time.
February 19, 2011 at 8:26 PM
Beth said…
Hi Jenny! How about for girls...? I have a struggling girl reader in year 4, but there is nothing I can find in the comic book genre for her. Do you know of anything?
March 11, 2011 at 4:41 PM
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