DEPARTMENT FOR
EDUCATION AND SKILLS News Release (2007/0080) issued by The
Government News Network on 16 May 2007
Alan Johnson,
Secretary of State for Education and Skills, today invited every
maintained secondary school in England to choose 20 free books for
their library as part of a £600,000 initiative to encourage more
teenage boys to read for pleasure.
Schools will be able to select the books from a new "Boys
Into Books" list commissioned by the Department for Education
and Skills and created by the School Library Association (SLA). It
has put together a collection that incorporates classic novels
with action, adventure, fantasy, crime, horror and sports titles,
as well as fact-based books, history and humour.
The initiative is designed to encourage 11 to 14 year old boys to
re-ignite their passion for reading. It follows research
indicating that while many boys read for pleasure at primary
school this good habit tends to fade after the age of 11,
resulting in a significant "reading gap" between boys
and girls in their early teens.
Announcing the free books initiative, Alan Johnson - who revealed
that his favourite book as an 11 year old was The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - said:
"Kick-starting a young person's passion for reading can
help them on so many levels. We know there is a clear link between
reading for pleasure and academic performance - not just in
English, but across the whole curriculum. Beyond this, of course,
reading can enrich their lives by freeing their imagination,
inspiring creativity and developing intellectual curiosity.
"Boys tend to read less than girls, and some lose the
reading bug completely after they change schools at 11. This
initiative will help boys re-acquire the reading habit, and try
out a wider range of great books. It links to all our other work
with partners - including the Reading Agency, the Literacy Trust,
and of course schools - to improve literacy.
"The book list that schools can choose from has been drawn
up by librarians, who have carefully researched books which excite
this age group. It blends classic literature with modern titles
and spans a full range of genres and reading levels. So whatever
a young person's particular interest or ability may be, there
should be something to interest and excite them."
The "Boys Into Books" list will be officially unveiled
by Schools Minister Jim Knight today (16 May) at the SLA's
School Librarian Awards in Birmingham. The SLA will also be
issuing a separate press notice naming the winner of the School
Librarian of the Year today.
Responding to the Boys Into Books initiative, Kathy Lemaire,
Chief Executive of the SLA, said:
"Getting boys reading is something that occupies the minds
of school librarians on a regular basis and many of them find
interesting and novel ways of doing this. However, fundamentally,
it's the books that count. The right books need to be there
when someone wants to read them, and that is why we were delighted
when we were commissioned to create this new booklist, which will
help to get knowledge of such titles to busy librarians."
NOTES TO EDITORS
The full Boys Into Books list is available on the SLA website http://www.sla.org.uk
More information on the Boys Into Books list
The boys book list is broken down into 15 different
classifications, which link to different genres: Boggle (factual
books), Discover (classics), Experiment (short stories), Explore
(fantasy and magic titles), Fast Forward (future fantasy), Fear
(horror), Go Wild (animal books), Imagine (historical fantasy),
Investigate (crime), Laugh (humour), Look Back (history), Play
(sport and hobbies), Spy (spies and special agents), Think (real
life issues), Train (cool schools).
Along with the 20 free books, schools will also receive newly
designed posters and postcards to promote them in their libraries.
Titles on the "Books for Boys" list feature established
names as well as lesser known authors, and include:
* Factual books, such as A Short History of Nearly Everything,
Bill Bryson's mindboggling but highly accessible popular
science book; I Know You Got Soul, Jeremy Clarkson's
typically infectious and irreverent journey into the world of
zeppelins, battleships and space shuttles; perennial favourite The
Guinness Book of Records; and Chew on This, Eric Schlosser's
controversial take on the fast food industry.
* Classic literature, including older classics such as Daniel
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The late Douglas Adams'
masterpiece The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and
Northern Lights, the first instalment of Philip Pullman's His
Dark Materials trilogy are more recent titles included in the
classics list.
* Historical novels, such as Private Peaceful by Michael
Morpurgo, a heartrending tale of love, loss and memory set in the
trenches during the first world war; Nathan Fox by L. Brittney,
which charts the adventures of 14-year old Nathan Fox, an up and
coming actor in the same company as William Shakespeare; and Mines
of the Minotaur by Julia Golding, which meshes environmental
issues with Arthurian legend in a compelling fantasy story.
* Spy and adventure titles, including Double or Die, comedian
Charlie Higson's novel about the young James Bond; The
Devil's Breath by David Gilman, a thrilling adventure story
charting one boy's struggle to rescue his father from
unscrupulous businessman Shaka Jung, who has masterminded a
massive ecological disaster; The Fall, by Robert Muchamore, which
sees junior spy James Adams embarking on his seventh
heart-stopping mission as a CHERUB agent, this time in Russia; and
Ark Angel, by Anthony Horowitz, which pits supercool MI6 spy Alex
Rider against an eco-terrorist group plotting to bring down the
first luxury hotel in outer space.
* Horror and fantasy titles, including Nightrise by Anthony
Horowitz, a supernatural thriller in which teenage twins are drawn
into a dark world of murder, intrigue and battles spanning 10,000
years; Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess, a futuristic sci-fi thriller
in which two rival gangs struggle for control over the ruined
remains of London; and Darkside by Tom Becker, which sees a
teenage boy stumble across a secret side of London where vampires,
werewolves and bounty hunters stalk the streets.
* Sport and hobbies, including Divided City by Theresa Breslin, a
skilfully plotted, edgy story of life from the football terraces
in Glasgow; The Penalty by Mal Peet, which tells the story of a
teenage football prodigy who disappears in South America; and Game
Boy by Alan Durant, about a boy who receives strange messages on
his games console that ultimately pull him into a thrilling adventure.
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