Boys and Books: What You Need to Know and Do So Your 9- to 14-Year-Old Son Will Read (Boys Will Read | Parent Series)

Give Boys the Gift of Reading

Have you begged your son to read a book, but he insists that he hates reading and won't?

Are you concerned that his video game/ watching television/ computer surfing habit(s) are turning his brain to mush?

Do you worry that his non-reading habit is impacting/ will impact his overall academic achievement?

If you're a parent of a 9- to 14-year-old son, you probably answered yes to at least one, if not all, of the questions above. You are right to feel concerned and worried about your son's relationship with reading.

A high percentage of preteen/early teen boys self-reports that they don't read because they prefer other activities. They also significantly underperform in reading on standardized tests compared to girls, and research shows that not reading impacts academics negatively.

But it can be different.

There is an antidote to boys' underperformance in reading, and it's not workbooks or computer programs or more test prep. It's also not a quick fix or silver bullet solution.

Picture your son:

• Performing better in school and on important standardized tests like the SATs.
• Growing his vocabulary, general knowledge of the world, and reading comprehension/skills/and strategies.
• Developing empathy, intellectual curiosity, better communication skills, and the capacity to thrive in a global, knowledge-based, information-driven world.

The antidote: reading for pleasure every day, and the key word here is "pleasure."

In Boys and Books, Hillary Tubin shows parents how to open their son up to this type of reading so he can gain all its benefits to combat his underperformance.

She draws on 20+ years as a literacy educator helping over 350 underperforming boys become frequent readers and performers, the system she used to help their parents ensure success, and groundbreaking research to show why this antidote is a game-changer.