Monday, November 7, 2011

Girls vs. Boys

After reading A Family of Readers I realized that you hear more about girls books than boys book. In fact before I read this assignment I did not even know that boys books really existed. Yes, I knew there were sports books, or dinosaur books, or even war books that boys are interested in, but what I did not realize is that there are chapter books with the main character a male going through life and boy problems that the male reader may also be going through. If I did know they existed I sure did not realize that boys actually read them, but then again maybe they still don't... Do boys even care if other people have the same problems as them? And if they do, do they care to read more about them?
I guess I just thought girls liked the comfort of knowing she is not the only one going through a problem she is, that there is a way to get through it, and that the book she is reading may give her more insight to the solution. Girls love girl books, especially the romance ones. Girls love reading about other problems and getting pulled into them through the characters. But I figured that boys were completely different.
So now that I realize both girls and boys have their own books, how do the books really differ? Obviously boys and girls are not going to have the same problems, but so these books deal with problems? After all, I am a girl and I admit that I only know about girls books, but I would say, comparing boys to girls, that the two types of books are completely different.
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2 comments:

  1. Kelsey R.November 7, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    I also found the information on girls vs. boys books very interesting. I think it says a lot about the way our culture develops that girls are practically raised on Judy Bloom books, or other books centered around solving problems and expressing feelings. What does it say about how we raise our boys if they are not taught the same things? Does it affect them as they go through life? If we were to raise boys on these novels with male protagonists going through life events, versus the Star Wars series, would they approach life differently? Would the division between the sexes not be so black and white? Is there any way in the future to transform the literature young boys read as they develop? While these novels may exist for males, they are certainly not a staple in the cultural upbringing. As teachers can we pass along this information and perhaps close the gap between boys and girls?

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  2. Ann S.November 8, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    I thought that the information regarding boys books was very interesting. I completely agree Lauren, that girls look for ways to relate to the characters to help with there own lives. Do boys do the same thing? Also, Kelsey you raise some great questions about the the books the boys read and there development because of it. I think that it is super important for boys to have the option to read books that they can relate to on a personal level, without just a strong masculine character. I think the characters should be more relatable so that boys can connect to literature the ways girls can without feeling self conscious.

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