Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers

Naked Reading was inspired by the author's ten-year-old granddaughter, whose frequent practice of spending time after a shower air-drying in the privacy of the bathroom, so she can continue reading an engrossing book, made Teri Lesesne curious about what makes some tweens avid readers while others elect not to read or become dormant readers.

Not yet fully young adults, but—as they are quick to tell you—no longer “little kids,” these nine-to-fourteen-year-olds are at a stage where every day brings new emotions and physical growth, when habits become ingrained, and when tastes are established.

For teachers, the tween years can be the best and worst of times. While some fourth-to-ninth-graders come to see books as a lifeline for understanding a changing world, too many experience “the fourth-grade slump”—a marked decline in interest and achievement in reading. Without help, many become middle and high school students who have stopped reading for pleasure, and only slog through what is assigned.

Teri draws on her extensive experience as a teacher and consultant to examine ways that educators can help interest kids in books and keep them reading during this crucial period. She looks at:

• developmental attributes of tweens;
• emerging interests for tweens;
• themes and plots tweens find most engaging;
• annotations for scores of children's and YA literature most appropriate for tweens;
• practical classroom activities for sparking tween engagement in reading.

As in her previous book, Making the Match, Naked Reading is loaded with specific titles to help you connect kids with books that will interest them the most.