Great book news for those with reluctant readers

-
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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Going grey at 40

-
Image
I have written about this before , but after broaching the subject on facebook a few weeks ago I've been thinking a lot about the whole colouring your hair deal.  On facebook I asked when having natural coloured hair was going to become trendy like other old fashioned things like quilting and growing your veges?  I am quite tired of how time consuming colouring my hair is and how expensive it is. A very interesting conversation resulted with a huge variety of opinions.  Many of the women said they would be going natural, but of course they aren't gray now (and are my age) so I don't think that really counts.  Until you ACTUALLY start going seriously gray/white you can't see how it impacts on the way you look.  I think it is different to be almost white (like myself) at age 40 and agreeing in principle to going natural when it happens to you in the future (when you will be a lot older than I am now!). Just quietly, I'll believe it when I see it (let me throw d
Read more

Confessions of an earl grey addict

-
Image
I have to confess in this public forum that I'm addicted to earl grey tea. I used to like the expensive stuff (Twinings) but because I drink so much of it, over the years I've had to buy the home brand version because I couldn't afford to sustain my habit. On Monday mornings I'd go to playgroup and have a cup of tea.  But one wasn't enough.  I'd have to go back for another. I'd visit a friend and enjoy the first cuppa.  But start to wonder if it too rude to ask for another, an hour into our visit. I don't have milk or sugar with it.  That just wrecks the purity of the experience.  I would branch out sometimes and enjoy Lady Grey or French Earl Grey for a treat.  But for everyday purposes my friend was the 'Earl'. But two weeks ago I went cold turkey.  I just decided that it was time to break the habit.  I have entered the world of herbal teas with all its strange flavours.  Peppermint (toothpaste dissolved in hot water).  Camomile (wee
Read more

Christmas memory creating

-
Image
This is OK I'm sure I've written about this before but every year I struggle with the pressure to be an uber mum and have some kind of Christmas craft decorating the house.  Instead I end up with a leaning Christmas tree that the kids have decorated themselves (certainly not going to make the cut for a Myer catalogue), with lights that drove the husband to distraction to untangle. There's a trend (especially in Christian circles) to create family traditions.  And I'm a total believer.  Good, healthy childhood memories and traditions have been shown to be very significant in developing high levels of security and resilience. But over time the memories/tradition trend seems to have developed into some kind of Pinterest Christmas competition.  No longer is the knitted nativity scene that Aunty Pip bought for us from the Mother's Union stall in 2003 enough.  It needs to be done by me.  And this is how my family will unite, bond and be functional. The problem i
Read more