Linworth/AUSE Youth Services Paper Award Winner:Teaching Effective Book-Selection Strategiesand Inspiring Engaged Readers in theLibrary Media Center

"(ReadingJ just makes me ... imagine moreand that keeps my brain awake and thatkeeps my whole body awake." — JoseP(age 8)

"I'm not so great at Ireadingj. And J don'twant to waste my time 'cause I like to doother stuff instead of just sit down and dosome reading." — Jason (age 8)

A central goal of most library mediaprograms is to inspire lifelong readers,who, like Josef, recognize and valuethe powerful cognitive, affective, andeven physical experiences they obtainthrough reading. Unfortunately, nationalsurveys have reported that reading forpleasure is on the decline, especiallyamong children and young adults(National Endowment for the Arts).Many young people, like Jason, aredeterred by the powerful challengesthat reading presents.

Interestingly, a recent surveycommissioned by Scholastic found thatthe top reason children said they donot read more was because of "troublefinding books I like" (Yankelovich 10}.Despite countless studies into children'sreading interests, reading preferences,and responses to literature, researchersoffer little guidance on how to assistchildren in effectively selecting booksfor recreational reading. To gain insightsinto just how children select books forrecreational reading—and how librariansand educators can help—I spent the

summer of2006 at apublic libraryobserving andinterviewing 20seven-to nine-year-old children(Reuter).

By Kara Reuter

Why Does Book Selection Matter?The practices of two children—Joeland Lily, both age 9 —provide a starkcontrast in the kinds of strategieschildren in my study exhibited duringbook selection and their levels of success.Both children had positive attitudesabout reading, a great deal of supportfor reading in their families, and wereregular visitors to the public library.The children differed in their levels ofcare during book selection and theirsatisfaction with the books they selected.

The Benefits of Attentivenesswhen Lily browsed the library for books,she was highly active. She squatteddown to view books on the bottomshelves and crawled along the floor. Lilywas very attentive to her selection ofbooks, considering a wide variety offactors and using them in tandem forindividual selections. On one visit tothe library, she selected Amelia Lends aHand, part of the American Girl seriesby Marissa Moss presented in the styleof a hand-written journal. Lily explainedwhy she chose the book:

"I like books that are wrote [sic] in eitherjournals or letters ... The cover ... tells alittle bit about how exciting probably it'sgonna be ... 'Lends a Hand' seems likeshe was really nice and lended [sic|a hand to someone."

She considered the cover illustrationand the title to get a sense of the readingexperience ("exciting") as well as thebook's theme ("she was really nice andlended [sic] a hand to someone"). Shealso focused on the book's narrative style(books written in "journals or letters").When she returned Amelia Lends a Handat her next library visit, Lily said sheliked it "cause it teaches you a lessonand, like I said, I really like journals andit was really fun to read. All the Ameliabooks, to me teach a lesson, and arereally exciting, and are really good." The

aspects she mentioned when selecting thebook—the theme, the narrative style, andthe reading experience—were the samethat led to her engagement with the book.

On another library visit she selected abook from the My Weird School series byDan Gutman: "Mr Hynde Ls Out of HisMind!—'out of his mind'—which sortof sounded funny. And I'm guessing Mr.Hynde was the music teacher, by thecover." She again referred to the book'stitle and cover illustration to makejudgments about the book's contents("Mr. Hynde was the music teacher")and reading experience ("soundedfunny"). On her subsequent visit tothe library, Lily rated the book highly,clearly delighted with her selection: "Iloved it! I like [the] My Weird School[series|—they're cool. [The book was]funny, weird, and crazy. I can't wait toread more books!" The care Lily hadtaken in her book selection paid off byproviding her with a satisfying readingexperience and an introduction to a newfavored series.

The Costs of CarelessnessIn contrast, Joel was often aimless ashe browsed for books at the library.He wandered up and down the aisles,pausing to gape at the books on theshelves. He frequently pulled booksfrom the shelves almost absent mindedly,paying httle attention to his selections.On one library visit, Joel selectedBoat by DK Publishing, explaining hisselection perfunctorily: "I like to lookinside boats and stuff and ... it's, just,I like boat books." On the subsequentlibrary visit, he said that he liked Boat

"because it had all these cool things aboutboats and it told me a lot of things."Although Joel's attention to the bookwas somewhat superficial, in this casehis selection was successful.

On another library visit, Joel selectedServant to Abigail Adams: The EarlyColonial Adventures of Hannah Cooper by

18 LIBRARY MEDiA CONNECTION April/May 2008 Of special interest to grades...

"Typical book selection methods taught in libraries single out level of difficulty asthe sole criterion for selection, rather than focusing on the range of factors thatactually influence children to engage with books."

Kate Connell, remarking, "I don't know.It just looked like a good book. Because

... the title sounds like it's a good book."At first Joel expressed uncertainty abouthis selection ("I don't know"); like Lily,he mentioned the book's title, but hereferred only to an overall impression ofihe book as a "good book," rather thandelving deeper to consider the book'sLontents or reading experience. Whenhe returned the book at the subsequentlibrary visit, he said that he had dislikedthe book because "[It was] kinda girly.Il was kinda boring." Although thelitle contains two female names and theIront ilap summary clearly indicatesthat the main character is a teenagegirl, Joel had not been attentive to thesedetails, resulting in a less-than-satislyingreading experience.

How Do Children Learn toSelect Books?

Curious about what accounted for suchdifferences in the children's book-selection strategies, at the conclusion ofthe study, I asked the study participantshow they had learned to choose books.Lily acknowledged receiving instructionin school in the use of the online catalogto locate known items, but when itcame to picking out books for leisurereading, she remarked that it just "camenaturally." Joel, too, said that selectingbooks was second nature: "I justknew." He specifically denied receivinginstruction in school related to selectingbooks. Instead, he explained that helearned by observing others: "I justlooked at other people doing it."

Figure 1: Sources of Book-Selection Knowledge

Self-taught

• "i just , , . kinda figured out how to.

Observation

• "i just looked at other peopie doing

Instinct

• 1 just knew,"

Uncertain

by myseif."

it."

• "i don't reaiiy know how, 1 think i was iike 3,4, or

Family members

• "i just watched my sisters... and i

Schooi

ask my mom

• "it came

• "Maybe i

• "instinct.

naturaiiy."

saw someone do it before."

i guess."

5 when ididit. i have no due!"

sometimes

"in library ciass... [the librarian] showed me how to use the computers to find [a book].""i know how to pick out books because [at] schooi they teached [sic] us how to .,. leave,

iike, spaces between them.""The iibarian [sic] at my school, when we have iibrary.., She taught us when there's...

ietters iike these, up here [on the spine of the book], it means it's fantasy. And if there'snumbers there, it means it's ... reai."

"My iibrarian at my schooi... toid me ... how to pick out wiseiy. She said ... read thetitie or read the back of the book, [or since] this one doesn't have anything, read thefirst page, or the first sentence, or tiie first paragraph."

"My teachers [said].,. just read a iittie and see if it's .,. what you want or if it's toohard.., Sometimes i pick hard books; sometimes we have a iittie break book, [or] ajust right book,"

The other children in the study alsoclaimed to be self-taught or creditedobservation or instinct when it cameto book selection (Figure 1). Often, thelanguage children used to describehow they learned to choose books wasspeculative and, in some cases, childrenexpressed total uncertainty aboutthe sources of their book-selectionknowledge. In only a few instances werechildren able to identify specific sourcesfor their book-selection knowledge, suchas family members or school.

When children in this study did mentionreceiving instruction in school, theyreported learning only the mechanicsof book selection, such as how to usethe library catalog or how to re-shelvebooks and the conventions of librariesand books. Other children were taughtto focus on reading level, mentioning

"just right books." None of the childrenreported receiving any guidance in schoolin how to select books they would enjoy.

How Can We Help ChildrenSelect Books?

Formal book-selection methodscommonly taught in the library mediacenter, such as the five-finger test orthe Goldilocks Rule, guide childrenin finding books that match theirindependent reading levels (Parks).Unfortunately, such methods single outlevel of difficulty as the sole criterion

Figure 2: Tips for SuccessfuiBook Selection

Look and Touch

Focus on muitiple aspects of the book• Examine the cover iiiustration• Consider the titie• Skim the summary• Leaf through the pages

Read and Imagine

Contempiate actually reading the book• Anticipate the book's contents• Imagine the reading experience

LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION April/May 2008 19

for selection, rather than focusing on therange of factors that actually influencechildren to engage with books.

Library media curricula should insteadfocus more broadly on the overallprocess of book selection for recreationalreading. For instance, the findings abovecontrast the well developed, highlysophisticated, and generally successfulbook-selection strategies used by Lilywith the more aimless and somewhatmore hit-or-miss strategies used by Joel.The former strategies could be used asa preliminary model for instruction to

enhance the practices of children usingthe latter strategies {Figure 2).

Joel's evaluation was more single-mindedand superficial and he overlookedmeaningful elements of books such asthe front-cover illustrations and booksummaries. While making selections,Lily was highly attentive to subtle cuesin book titles and surface features. Sheexplained that she considered a range ofelements of books: "I really learned thatsomehow, some way, the [front] cover,spine, and back [-of-the-book summary]has [sic] something to do with the book."

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As Lily evaluated her selections, contentsand reading experience were at theforefront of her consideration. Sheanticipated what a book would be aboutand imagined what kind of experiencethe book might provide. Joel's limitedconsideration of books allowed himonly to focus on an overall impression.The care Lily took in examining andhandling books ultimately rewardedher with satisfying reading experiences.If Joel had employed a similar strategy,he might have spared himself thedisappointment of some of his selections.

Conclusion

The contrast between these children'sbook-seleetion strategies highlights thecomplex nature of book selection andunderscores the challenges that childrencan face when selecting books. However,the children in this study reportedreceiving tittle or no formal instructionor guidance in selecting books forrecreational reading. In the absence offormal guidance in book selection, somechildren, like Lily, may develop effectivestrategies "somehow, some way," whileothers, like Joel, struggle to find booksthey enjoy, possibly diminishing theirinterest in reading over time. By teachingchildren effective strategies to find booksthey enjoy, the library media centercan play an important role in inspiringchildren to become engaged readers. •

Kara Reuter is the digital library manager atVi orthington (Ohio) Libraries and can be reachedatkreuter@worthingtonlibraries.org.

*These and all subsequent uses of children'^names are pseudonyms.

Works cited

Nalionai Endowment for the Arts. To Read orNol 10 Read: A Question of Nalional Consequence.Washington, DC: National Endowment for the An2007.

Parks, Melinda. "Choosing Books That Are .lustKight." 2004. Learn NC. July 14. 2007.http://www.Iearnnc.org/lp/pages/mparksO6O8-l.

Reuter, Kara. "'Children Selecting Books ina Library': Extending Models of InformationBehavior to a Recreational Setting." DoctoralDissertation. University of Maryland, 2007.

Yankelovich. "Kids and Family Reading Report."2006. Scholastic, Inc. March 17, 2007.http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport.

20 LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION April/May 2008 Of specialinterest to grades...