In the readings we have to do for this upcoming week one of the sections we had to read was in a Family of Readers. This section discusses Girls Books vs. Boys Books. One quote/question that stood out to me in this section was, "Are girls being limited by reading only books about girls "just like me"? (Sutton, pg. 238). This question really stood out to me because I think it addresses an issue of how these books meant for girls can limit their genre type and not allow them to expand their horizons.
I grew as an avid reader, devouring books as fast as my parents could get them for me from the library. However, these books were mainly the stereotypical books; Judy Blume, Ella Enchanted, Junie B. Jones, and other girl books. As I grew older this love of "girl" books brought me to Sarah Dessen books. I could relate to the girls in the books and loved the romance in the books. These books and other "girl" books are great reads and fun and entertaining but I do think that they can limit the genre type girls read and won't allow them to expand their horizons to read other books about characters who might be different then them. Reading a diversity of genres and about a broad range of characters allows girls to take the perspective of someone who might not be just like them. They can learn to put themselves in other peoples shoes and can
learn how to connect better to others. It will open up their perspectives about diversity and other cultures.
Reading a variety of books gives readers the opportunity to experience a few different types of books and see what they like and don't like. Also, if girls stepped out of their comfort zone and read books that were considered "boy books" they could realize they like them and could engage in book discussions with boys and create mini book clubs. I will always love Sarah Dessen books and Judy Blume, but now that I'm older I like reading about characters that aren't always just like me because it allows me to take a new perspective I wouldn't have before.
I personally LOVED Ella Enchanted and still love Sarah Dessen books. I was definitely a "girl book" reader; books about friendship and teen romance intrigued me much more than Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events ever did. And I know you're not saying this is a bad thing to read only girl books, but why is it that I hated Harry Potter and any book that didn't fall into my "girls-just-like-me" realm? How can we get kids to read books that they wouldn't normally read by themselves? What if we, as teachers, make them read something that they absolutely hate just for the sake of diverse literature? In the worst case scenario, a child come become turned off to reading on their own or fully and comprehensively reading in class because they could genuinely hate the book. Would a child even learn anything from the book then? This is definitely a sticky situation that we are faced with - to find books that all of our students will enjoy and relate to; it is virtually impossible.
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