By Lori Calabrese
Who says nonfiction for boys isn’t exciting? If you’re looking for a booklist that lists nonfiction books by subject, gives enough information about each title, and also provides ideas for booktalks, then check out Gotcha for Guys!: Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited About Reading
This series, written by Kathleen A. Baxter, the Coordinator for Children’s Services in the Anoka County (MN) Library for over 25 years, lists more than 1100 books that have been booktalked by their authors or have received positive reviews. The book is intended as a list of books specifically that boys will be interested in, but it can also be used in a variety of ways– Librarians can use it as a source for nonfiction ordering ideas, teachers and homeschoolers can use it to search for titles that correlate to curriculum areas or specific units of study, children’s writers can use it for ideas for author presentations and booktalks, and parents can use the book with their children as a reading selection tool.
Gotcha for Guys!: Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited About Reading lists nonfiction books by subject and gives librarians/ booksellers/ teachers/ homeschoolers enough information about each title to decide whether or not to add the item to their collection. There are ten chapters that cover ten areas of interest to boys, ranging from disasters and unsolved mysteries, creepy-crawly creatures, all things gross, world history, prehistoric creatures, and more. Each section is divided into three parts and begins with detailed descriptions of a few books, and includes lists of don’t miss titles. The ‘New and Notable’ section suggests books published since 2004, and includes a complete citation with booktalk. The ‘Not to Be Missed’ section highlights older books and the third section, ‘Worth Reading,’ highlights books with favorable reviews from SLJ, Horn Book, or Booklist.
What I like best about this book is that it gives ideas for booktalking to boys. The author points out that many teacher-librarians only push fiction in booktalk and nonfiction–particularly that for boys–often takes a backseat.The book is aimed at the middle-school age level, and offers classroom-tested ideas for presenting them to students in fascinating ways. In addition, there are tips on booktalking, an outline for a booktalk program, and a bibliography that can be used for collection development. Anyone who works with young children will find this book to be a great resource.
About the Author: Lori Calabrese is an award-winning children’s author. To learn more about Lori, please visit www.loricalabrese.com
