Whatever the reason, there are children who are left out of the party, who can't read or don't see the point of reading, who struggle or avoid reading (even coming up with ornate strategies to avoid admitting they can't read). By the age of 9 or 10 they are labelled non-readers, or reluctant readers or struggling readers. And soon they are left behind, with the rest of their world whizzing off ahead at secondary schools where reading is taken for granted and essential - no GCSEs if you can't read, no matter how good at science or maths or history you may be. They're soon written off, and many slip into misbehaving and become totally disengaged unless someone can get them reading. And that's where we come in. No one else can do it. Teachers and librarians are essential, of course, but if there are not books for these children, no amount of encouragement and expertise will get them to make the leap into reading for pleasure.
A child of 9, 10, 11 or even 15 or 16 who can't read won't be inspired to read by books intended for five-year-olds. Imagine you had a child of 12 months who had an accident or physical disability that meant they didn't learn to walk at the 'right' time. When he or she was better at the age of three, you wouldn't put them in shoes that fit a one-year-old and expect them to walk in those. So why do the same with books? Children need books appropriate to the interests and experiences of their chronological (or emotional) age, no matter what their reading age. A child of 13 who struggles with reading won't be inspired by a story about a panda who doesn't like a new sibling, or a little bunny whose parent loves him THIS much. They'll feel patronised, insulted, disengaged, alienated - and their belief that reading is not for them will be reinforced.They need exciting stories - and non-fiction books - about the topics and themes that excite other children their age. Books with simple vocabulary and sentence structure but about crimes, ghosts, football, romance, spies, vampires, space travel, monsters, challenging life situations, and all the other things that 'ordinary' books for young people are about. Sue Purkiss reported this week on the Society of Authors' conference on books for 7-9s, the poor relations of books for older children and picture books. If they're the poor relations, books for struggling readers are the beggars outside the gates.
There are publishers producing wonderful books for this readership. The best known is Barrington Stoke, but there are others, including the tiny but excellent Ransom and mainstream publishers who have lists for this group, such as Evans. It's a struggling market, though. More than any other area of children's publishing, it's vulnerable to cuts in schools and libraries funding. Often, the parents of the readers don't buy books. They may not read themselves, or may not be able to afford books. The books are short, of course, so they don't look like good value (a problem for picture books, too). In schools and libraries, although the value of the books is recognised, it can be hard to justify spending on books that only a small proportion of the pupils may read - even though the needs of those children are great and urgent.For the writer, books for this readership are great fun to write. It's a real challenge, a very exciting one. You have to pack a lot of plot, character development and some sophisticated themes into few, simple words. Or put a lot facts in a very easy and accessible form. I'm currently writing a series of six vampire novels for teens. Don't yawn, I know vampires have been done to death. But not, as my publisher points out, for readers who could never tackle something as long as Twilight. Where are the teen vampire novels less than ten thousand words long? Why are these kids left out of the vampire party? They want to read what their friends are reading. And the same is true for those who would rather read exciting spy stories or science fiction or adventure or crime or horror. Just because a child can't read well doesn't mean they're stupid. Books for them are not, and must not be, dumbed down. The readers probably know a good deal more than you do about a lot of subjects, will enjoy challenging ideas to think about, and things that link in with their world in unexpected ways.
These books are fun to write, but they're not easy. It can also feel as though you're 'wasting' a plot and characters that could go in a full-length novel for mainstream readers - you have a brilliant idea and you are not letting it stretch and enjoy itself. There is no chance it will become a bestseller and make lots of money. The readership may be fairly small. Why would you do it? Because it's a really enjoyable challenge as well as incredibly worthwhile. Tight writing and fast plotting, making every word work because the child has to invest a lot in reading every word - these are not easy to do, but it's very satisfying when it works. I love writing for this readership and do it a lot. It doesn't pay well - in fact, it pays very, very badly - and you don't get great Nielsen figures or fame. But you get huge satisfaction and it really sharpens your writing skills. Better still, it might make a difference to some child, somewhere, who once thought reading was for other people. You can't put a price on that.(You can follow the progress of #thosevampires on twitter, @annerooney. My books for this readership are all on my website, mixed in with the other books but labelled hi-lo - high interest, low reading level.)
18 comments:
A very moving post for me. I spend part of my time each week supporting children who struggle with literacy and these books are lifesavers.The Quick Reads books also provide another chance. It can make business sense(I have just been to the PA conference)to reach the 12 million people in the UK who have lost the reading habit.
3 of my 4 boys are severely dyslexic and it was desperate trying to find good books for them to read when they were growing up. (Thank goodness for audio books!) When I got the chance to write something for Barrington Stoke, I jumped at it. (small plug - the result is called The Night of the Kelpies)
A & C Black are starting a similar strand called Wired Up.
Great post, Anne. I'm now working on my fourth book for Barrington Stoke for exactly the reasons you mentioned. These books are important. Plus, I'm finding that they're increasingly read by readers who can take in longer novels, but simply don't want to.
And, as you say, they're fun to write!
I agree entirely. Two of my own books I enjoyed writing most were LILY: a ghost story (a Quick Read) and THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE (Barrington Stoke.) which I reckon is the scariest thing I've ever written. It's a real challenge to write a good book simply and directly and BRIEFLY!
How silly of me to forget Quick Reads! Thank you, Lynda and Adele. I knew about the knew A&C Black series and I want to write for that - must get in touch with them.
Tommy, I'd heard that. And last year, the bestselling books for boys were, I believe, Ransom's Dark Man series which are intended for reluctant readers but must have a wider readership. I think with so many really good books of that type it is inevitable that more confident readers will pick them up when they want something short - which is brilliant!
Good to hear such valuable books being discussed,Anne, as well as highlighting the challenge these "easy books" are to write.
Fantastic post! Informative and inspiring. Thanks.
We need more books like these in libraries too!
Great post, Anne. Thank you. We definitely need more of these books in the library and in schools. Shorter books are invaluable for reluctant readers and for those with reading difficulties.
Good post, Anne. And thank you for the mention, too (Ransom Publishing). You'll find us at www.ransom.co.uk.
This is a complex area to be publishing in: there are children/YA with different interest ages, different reading ages and different interests, of course.
But more than that, they have differing attitudes to, and expectations of, reading. Some cannot abide the longer form novel, for example, with all that character development, those tedious descriptions of sunsets, etc. etc. They want reading to be fast and furious - cutting to the quick and keeping it moving. Some want reading to be like a movie trailer. Some want a 'proper' novel - but just accessible to them. It's a highly segmented market - and it's small!
Interesting post. I would love to write books for reluctant readers. How would you suggest I begin? Just have a go, or contact a suitable publisher first?
Thank you for the extra info, Stephen.
Rosalie, it's a difficult market at the moment, so I'd say contact some publishers first and see who's still commissioning. Then look at their books and see who they are written for and how.
As Stephen says, there is a wide range - from very, very simply written books of a few hundred words to books that are really just condensed, fast-paced novels of 10,000 words or so. You don't want to spend a long time writing something that no one is currently buying.
That makes sense. Will do as you suggest - thanks.
I love this post, Anne.
I can begin to imagine the amount of skill needed to write these books well. Using lots of words and an unlimited vocabulary is far easier!
What you wrote about worrying you might not be stretching a great idea enough really made me sit up. I wonder if I could do that? It's testimony to your dedication and desire to give the gift of reading for enjoyment to children whose backgrounds or circumstances tend to exclude them.
Thank you for this.
Anne a fascinating post. I was involved in developing stories for children who use English as a second language (in a country that has 11 official languages... its not hard to have it as a second language!) In the end we came up with 16 page picture books instead of the usual 32 page ones. The characters and stories had to fly from the first page. The series won the Japanese Asahi Award for Reading but it wasn't easy to produce writing that is so honed and yet still delivers a really good story... a tough challenge.
Thank you Ellen, Diane.
Diane, that series sounds great - and well done for winning the award. Ellen, yes, using lots of words and unlimited vocabulary is certainly easier - but you don't really do that even writing mainstream children's books (until you get to YA). I also write for adults, and that is much easier than writing for children. So much the adult writers who think they can knock off a children's book!
I've just done one for Edge/Franklin Watts, who are bringing out a series for 'challenged' young readers from this autumn. I know Joe Craig's another of the authors. It's an exciting thing to be involved with!
A really interesting post, and one I respond to personally having witnessed the struggles of my dyslexic son. Strangely the breakthrough book for him was 'Lord of the Rings'. There's no accounting for what may grab a child's imagination, but the boy who couldn't cope with Billy Blue Hat picked up by himself and worked his way through Tolkien's entire three-volume book literally line by line. It opened up a world for him, not just of books but of ancient history and myth, and he's been reading ever since.
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