It is a disheartening reality that books – whether in printed or digital format – are rarely the go-to choice when children have a couple of hours to kill. Ramona Depares tries to find out what it takes to make the younger ones committed page-turners.
Back in my schooldays, more years ago than I care to remember, I was considered a ‘nerd’. This was when the word still had its original meaning, as opposed to the pop culture inferences that it has acquired nowadays. I was the genuine article and I didn’t limit myself to the obligatory Harry Potter spectacles. Come August, I would already have read all the new books freshly bought for the prospective academic year. Well, except for the science ones.
In those days, that placed me squarely within the nerd camp. Even during a time when the myriad distractions of computer games, social networking and snazzy tablets hadn’t yet hit, it was still considered relatively outlandish for a child to want to spend her spare time with her nose buried in a book. Adults and schoolmates both looked at me askance, my parents included. Though I have to say that it didn’t take the latter too long to twig to the fact that banning me from finishing the latest Enid Blyton was a far more effective punishment than prohibiting me from joining my friends in the playground.
Fast-forward 20 odd years. The reasons why children should be encouraged to read are finally obvious to educators and parents alike. The bad news, of course, is that the onslaught of technology and gadgets has actually made it even less likely that your average 10-year-olds can be persuaded to spend their time furthering an acquaintance with Roald Dahl or Trevor Żahra, instead of frittering away the afternoon on Facebook.
“When I was your age, television was called books.”
So starts one of the most beautiful fairy tales in existence, The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Nowadays, you may substitute ‘television’ for any amount of other distractions – computers, internet, console games...
The results from the latest survey, conducted by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study in April 2011 across 96 schools, are a sad reflection of the way other pursuits have replaced reading. With Malta ranking 35th out of 45 countries with respect to reading skills, and schoolchildren revealed to be lagging behind on basic reading skills, it is understandable why the report recommends the presence of more books in schools, classrooms and libraries.
Unfortunately, the mere presence of a book is unlikely to be enough to persuade a child to actually read it. I have always believed that the main reason most kids are averse to opening a book (or switching on an e-reader) is the fact that reading as an activity is invariably presented as a chore, a school-related activity, as opposed to the fun and imaginative adventure that it really is.
In truth, reading is not much different from playing a computer game, with the difference that your imagination actually gets a workout by creating all the visuals, possible endings and so forth... instead of being presented with the ready-made solutions that computer games offer.
In short, if cyber-surfing and computer games are the shackles of the mind, books are its fodder.
What the book people say
Chris Gruppetta, Merlin Publishers
“I would say that fantasy and a little touch of wackiness are what sells most for children. Magic powers, in whichever form, remain popular as a subject matter, although 3D characters that readers can identify with remain a clincher in determining whether a novel will do well with children.
“Teens tend to go for realism and grittiness, depending on the age, but they especially go for books with ‘street cred’. The presence or absence of the latter is one of the key factors that determines whether a young adult novel will sink or swim. Slightly risqué situations tend to make a book popular with teens too, for obvious reasons.
“From my experience, children read more reliably than adults. Adults tend to read intermittently (I am, of course, grossly generalising here). The downward trend is dramatic, sudden and not fully reversible later on in life – and it comes with the teenage years, with a sharp drop at around 13 years of age.
“My advice to parents is always the same. Never impose your choice of book on children. Try to get them excited about books, by all means, but let them choose their book. Even if it seems hopelessly childish, or simplistic, foolish, or without literary value to you. Anything, to get them to read. I find that often children who start off reading whatever they want to read will eventually move on to other, ‘better’, stuff.
“From the authors on our list, Żahra is constantly popular and his sales know no ‘depression’. Apart from that, our most popular children’s author for the under-12s would be Clare Azzopardi.
“Maltese literature for teenagers is still a quiet, sparse zone, although there have been huge advances in the past few years thanks in no small measure to the National Book Council and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ’s young adult literature award. In terms of sales, it would have to be Simon Bartolo and Loranne Vella’s Fiddien trilogy that, years after publication, remains a firm favourite. Pierre Mejlak’s modern classic, Riħ Isfel, also regularly features in top-five lists.”
Michael Vella de Fremeaux, Agenda Bookshop
“Writers like Elisabetta Dami (Geronimo Stilton series), Dan Hunter (Quest of the Gods series), Phoebe Bright (Lucky Stars series), Enid Blyton and Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) are very popular with the under-12s. Teenagers tend to go for Will Hill (Department 19), Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), Derek Landy (Skullduggery Pleasant) and JK Rowling (Harry Potter). As you can see from these titles, the most popular genres among children are magic, fantasy, adventure and humour.
“Children’s books still form a very important part of the market. There has been a slight downward trend among teenage readers and more needs to be done to encourage children to read – this is something that needs to be tackled both at national level and by parents at home. In relation to this, the Education Ministry will shortly be launching an intensive literacy drive to help promote reading among children from a young age. Parents need to look out for such initiatives.
“My advice to parents who would like to see their children read more is to enroll them in a children’s book club, like the Agenda Kid’s Club. Clubs like these aim to make books children’s good friends; friends who will lead them to all sorts of imaginable or unimaginable adventures. Parents should also allow their children to choose their own reading books rather than impose what to read on them. However, it also helps if they actually read with their children and make reading a fun family event.”
Authors to keep your finger on
In 2013, maybe it is a bit much to expect a 12-year-old to emphatise with Oliver’s trials and tribulations in Charles Dickens’s evergreen classic Oliver Twist – unless presented in endearing, musical format, of course.
Luckily, there are enough modern writers who know exactly how to tickle the younger ones’ imagination. These are some of the authors helping to churn out works that are on their way to becoming modern classics, and who are likely to give a good helping hand towards healthier reading statistics for Malta.
I won’t insult you by including JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series – those of you who haven’t read the books will have seen the movies, which makes their inclusion on this list redundant.
Neil Gaiman – This one is for those who like their stories to contain a touch of magic, which, apparently, means all children. The most obvious Gaiman choice is Coraline, a story about a girl who opens the door to a parallel universe where everything is slightly different from what she is used to back home. The Graveyard Book is a great second alternative, although the story may be found to be a touch too scary by very young kids (after a boy’s family is killed, he is adopted by the inhabitants of a graveyard).
Roald Dahl – So many fantastical stories to choose from, starting with that girl with the telekinetic powers, who is so well-loved by all students, Mathilda. Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes is another fun option, with a re-interpretation of six well-known fairy tales that are presented in verse and with surprise endings. For the even younger ones, The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me is a rollicking adventure with a difference – most of the protagonists are animals.
Clare Azzopardi – Her Jake chronicles are an intriguingly inventive and original way of presenting books to the younger readers. With weird and wonderful titles like L-Ixkupa tar-Re Vonxkup and Ir-Re Fellambrożja u r-Renju Laġenba, the books are based in fantasy and adventure, but with a contemporary edge that somehow makes it easier to reel the young ones in. Her Aħwa de Molizz volumes are equally fun and colourful, with the first book winning the Premju Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb.
Daniel Handler – Or rather the novels that he writes under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket. Those who enjoyed the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, that was based on the novels A Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window, are likely to enjoy the subsequent books. The three orphans’ tale continues where the film left off with The Miserable Mill, which sees them travelling to a new – and equally adventurous – home.
Jasper Fforde – That’s right, the genius behind the highly surreal and witty The Well of Good Plots and Lost in a Good Book has now ventured into children’s territory. Judging by the reception The Last Dragonslayer received last year, the man is as good at building children’s worlds as he is at creating the weirdest ones for adults. Jennifer Strange, the teenage orphan narrator, is indentured to an agency of magicians. But magic is no longer respected and is fast losing its power. The good news is that this should mark the beginning a series.