My husband picked a number between one and seventeen, Heidi’s name was written next to number 17, and so, she is the winner of the copy of The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate by Donna St. Cyr.

Congratulations to Heidi S. I sent you an email, so respond and send me your snail mail address soon! margodll [at] aol [dot] com

Now on to my Maniac Monday topic–Books for Boys. If you look under the comments section of the Friday, August 21st post about The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate, you will see a long list of recommendations of books for boys to read. This got me thinking. Why must we always discuss this topic of books for boys? Yes, we need to discuss it because there are many mothers and fathers and teachers out there who are complaining that boys aren’t reading or don’t like to read. We also must discuss books for boys and recommend some to each other in spite of the fact there are hundreds of books for boys–new, old, and everything in between. But why is it such a hot topic?

I guess my main point is. . . Why don’t we discuss books for girls as much? Why does it seem like girls will read anything–girl or boy main character, sci-fi or romance? It almost reminds me of babies–it’s okay when the girl baby wants to play with her brother’s firetruck, but people worry or think it’s weird when the boy baby wants to play with his sister’s Barbie dolls. Why is this?

Do we get the same look on our faces when we see a boy reading Junie B. Jones? I’ve seen boys read The Babysitter’s Club or Judy Blume books. Are they weird? Of course, not. But I do think we assume that boys don’t want to read about princesses or girls’ friendships or even an adventure book with a girl main character. Believe me, I am not blaming here–I am pointing the finger back at myself, too. I have a stepson, and I am always looking for “books for boys;” and at the library if there’s a girl on the cover, I don’t pick it up for him. UGH!

Here are a couple of great suggestions from my friends who left comments about books for boys. Boys will love these books.

But girls will love them, too. And that book that you see a girl reading over there might also be enjoyed by a boy. I’m going to start trying to remember that, and I hope you will join me.

Older Middle grade (might even be TWEEN) novel, historical fiction
Eleven-year-old boy as main character
Rating: This book is one of the funniest older middle-grade (or TWEEN) readers I have ever picked up. If you love Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, you’ll love Harris and Me in a different way.

Short, short summary: The narrator of Harris and Me, whom we never learn his first name, is shipped to live with his aunt and uncle and their two children, Glennis and Harris, on their farm because his parents are drunks. So, he’s seen a lot, and he’s moved around a lot, but he’s never seen anything quite like Harris. Harris is adventurous and sneaky and just likes to have a lot of fun. Not only is our narrator introduced to hard farm work, such as milking and hay time, but he is also introduced to the many delicious meals that someone has to eat to keep up strength for all the hard farm work. But most of all, Gary Paulsen shows how our narrator is introduced to a cousin full of imagination and excitement like when Harris tries to imitate a Gene Autry movie by jumping on a horse or making his bike move faster with a washing machine motor. Throughout the summer as much as our narrator wants to get revenge on Harris at different times, he also develops a deep friendship that will last beyond the summer. Harris and Me is a book for boys and girls, but boys, of all ages, will fall in love with it!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This book is begging for a character study. There are so many wonderful characters in this book with their own quirks, expressions, and descriptions. Everyone is different and wonderful in their own way. So let your students study these characters! The minor characters are as interesting as the main characters in Harris and Me! One great way to do a character study is to let students choose the name of a character out of a hat, and then students make a list of different characteristics of that character in their reading response journals. Students can also find some of their favorite parts, featuring their character, and write why they loved these parts. They can also find parts that really show the characteristics that make this character unique and why they choose these parts to explain their character.

2. The setting of this book is a few years after World War II, so this is an historical fiction book even though it doesn’t read like one. Paulsen masterfully weaves the details of the setting into his novel. But what are the details that help identify the time and place of this novel? Ask students to discuss these or list them in their reading response journals. When your students are writing fiction, you can remind them of Paulsen’s wonderful characters–main and minor–as well as the way he worked the setting into the story and see if students can follow some of Paulsen’s techniques. The best way to learn about writing is from the masters!

3. This book makes everyone who reads it think of something silly or even stupid they have done with their siblings or cousins or neighborhood friends. Ask your students to write a personal narrative inspired by events in Harris and Me.

Check out this really great blog about children’s books called Chicken Spaghetti .

Middle grade novel, realistic fiction
13-year-old boy as main character
Rating: Gary Paulsen tells a captivating story of Brian and his plight in Hatchet, a Newberry Honor Book.

Short, short summary: In Hatchet, Gary Paulsen tells the story of Brian Robeson, who is taking a single engine plane to visit his father because his parents are divorced. The plane crashes, the pilot dies, and Brian is left alone in the wilderness with a hatchet. He is angry over his parents’ actions, but now he must fight to survive. Brian’s adventure in Hatchet is one that all children and adults love to read.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. One of the most obvious, but worthwhile writing activites, to engage students while reading Gary Paulsen’s book is to ask them to put themselves in Brian’s shoes. Ask students to write about what they would have done if they were faced with a situation such as Brian’s. You can even ask them to write a “diary” entry where they pretend to be in the wilderness, and write about what they did that day.

2. What do students think Brian should do about the Secret? You can start a debate in your classroom or at home (if you homeschool) over this topic because all children will not agree. In the end of Hatchet, we find out that Brian does not tell his dad the Secret. Do students think this was a good idea or not? Why didn’t he tell his dad? If you want to get a lively discussion going in your classroom, this is a great topic to work on speech and debate skills.

3. Since Brian is the main character and one of the only characters for several chapters of the book, Hatchet is perfect for a character study. Ask students to list Brian’s character traits at the beginning of the book and then at the end of the book (the Epilogue can help with this). How does Brian change? You can also ask students or your children to write about or discuss how Brian’s character traits from the beginning of the novel helped in his survival. Yes, he changed, and he gained more valuable character traits throughout his adventure, but he had to have some before he started or he would not have survived.

If you have used this book in your classroom or at home, please leave a comment here and tell us how it went. For more Hatchet activities and lesson plans, please see: Teaching Theme and Author’s Purpose with Hatchet.