Jump-Starting Boys

July 1, 2013
Sisters Withers (author of adventure novels, including Peak Survival) and Gill (a former high school teacher) offer a helpful collection of “hundreds of encouraging tips and tools” to help boys and young men embrace reading. They stress that reading is key to academic achievement even in subjects like math or science. In turn, academic achievement is tied to success in life as never before, as has been well-documented. The authors quote from numerous authorities, sometimes extensively, including child-rearing expert Rudolph Dreikurs; Michael Gurian, author on all things boy-related;, and children’s author and guysread.com founder Jon Scieszka. Withers and Gill share their own experiences as mothers, and as an author and therapist, as well as interviews with boys and men who have overcome reluctance or difficulty reading. Sidebars feature suggestions, brief topics related to chapter subjects, and longer quotes from outside sources. The book concludes with appendixes of more books, Web sites, and organizations. The variety of material makes the book feel like a packet handed to students at the beginning of a college course rather than a single sustained argument. Though the content could have been more elegantly structured, the book offers solid information for parents of boys. Agent: Lynn Bennett, Transatlantic Literary Agency, Canada.

Starred review from July 1, 2013

The academic woes of boys, particularly after the fourth grade, is well documented in studies over the last decade by authors such as Michael Gurian (The Mind of Boys), Leonard Sax (Boys Adrift), and Peg Tyre (The Trouble with Boys). This new volume by authors Withers (associate editor, Adventure Magazine) and Gill (curriculum developer and family therapist) offers tips and tools for parents, rather than teachers, demonstrating how home life can make a dramatic difference in performance and confidence levels at school. Topics include increasing boys' interest in reading and writing, helping boys who are underachieving in math and science, identifying physical difficulties, and emphasizing the importance of male role models in boys' lives, as well as how to find a role model for your son. The endnotes include extensive book and website lists for parents to peruse. VERDICT An excellent contribution to the existing body of literature, full of practical tips on how parents can help their sons achieve their best academically.--Julia M. Reffner, Fairport, NY

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