Pleasure Reading for Adult Learners Finding Good Books for ESL and Literacy Students Marcia Aronson Diversity and Accessibility Services, Ottawa Public Library
Selection Tips • • Key Criteria General Criteria Popular Categories Not So Popular Categories
Key Criteria All of the following must be met:
Key Criteria • Number of pages: 200 or less • Clear typeface: 12 point minimum; no italics or funny graphics • • • Adult interest Initial hook to engage reader Attractive cover and format No comprehension exercises No level on front cover or title page
Examples
Number of Pages X Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine • similar themes (jazz, orphans) • both great stories • too long for most adult learners (245 -280 p. )
Number of pages I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (205 p. )
Clear Typeface X Memories of Survival by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz & Bernice Steinhardt • type is very difficult to read One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists by Janet Wilson • very busy looking pages
Goose Girl by Joe and Martine Mc. Lellan
Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire
Adult Interest X Days of Toil and Tears by Sarah Ellis The Shade by K. L. Denman Splat! by Eric Walters • good typeface & length • stories are juvenile or teen-oriented
Adult Interest • teen protagonist, but storyline adult in nature • homeless man who served in Rwanda during time of massacres
Adult Interest • story about Dutch Resistance The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring
Adult Interest • historical novel set during War of 1812 • good type • straightforward story The Schooner’s Revenge by Robert Sutherland
Initial Hook to Engage Reader X The Landing by John Ibbitson • good story, but actual excitement starts at p. 138 Safe as Houses by Eric Walters • again, hook is well into the story
Initial Hook to Engage Reader • hook is at beginning Safe House by James Heneghan
Attractive Cover & Format X • great story • on TPL’s list • really juvenile cover A Bloom of Friendship by Anne Renaud
Attractive Cover & Format X • terrible front cover Boy in Motion: Rick Hansen’s Story by Ainslie Manson
Attractive Cover & Format • cover too juvenile? Rosie’s Dream Cape by Zelda Freedman
No Level on Front Cover / Title Page • “poems for girls” A Maze Me by Naomi Shihab Nye X
No Level on Front Cover / Title Page X • “a kid’s power book” Maggie and the Chocolate War by Michelle Mulder
No Comprehension Exercises Dracula Oxford Bookworms series
General Criteria The majority of the following should be met:
General Criteria • Sentences: average 15 words in length; not too complex in structure • Paragraphs: no longer than 10 lines; lots of white space • Chapters/Sections: clear headings; 6 -7 pages long • Interest Factors: well-known author, TV/movie tie-in, humour, cultural diversity, famous people, men’s and women’s interests, etc.
General Criteria (cont. ) • Structure: low complexity, i. e. minimal change of voice, minimal flashbacks and shifts in time periods, etc. • Illustrations: pictures, maps, photographs or other visual aids, as appropriate
Examples
Sentences and Paragraphs X Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George • great book, but sentences are long Flight of the Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas • lovely fable, but forward and afterword are too complex
Sentences and Paragraphs The Schooner’s Revenge by Robert Sutherland • good sentence length and paragraph length
Interest Factors Deborah Ellis • well known author • cultural diversity
Interest Factors Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart Mc. Lean • radio personality • humour • available on CD
Interest Factors The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner • movie tie-in: The Great Escape to the Forest by Ruth Yaffe Radin • movie tie-ins: – Defiance – The Bielski Brothers
Interest Factors June Callwood: A Life of Action by Anne Dublin • read about her in newspaper
Interest Factors I. D. by Vicki Grant • a lot in the news & on TV mysteries about the consequences of identity theft
Structure X The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux • terrific story, but too descriptive • lots of adjectives & similes Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges • italic type • notes at bottom of pages • some terms may be unfamiliar (e. g. “sharecropper”)
Structure The Disappeared by Gloria Whelan • set in Argentina • chapters alternate between characters’ voices, but change of voice made clear through chapter headings Joe Louis by David A. Adler • not complex • good story of real character who faced racism
Illustrations X Wave by Suzy Lee • illustrations too juvenile
Popular Categories (and less popular ones)
Family Relationships (good and bad) Crazy Man by Pamela Porter • hired hand from mental institution & how he becomes important to well-being of family Rosie’s Dream Cape by Zelda Freedman
Family Relationships (good and bad) Letters to My Mother by Teresa Cárdenas After by Francis Chalifour
Sports Don Cherry’s Hockey Stories and Stuff The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
Mystery/Adventure Safe House by James Heneghan Wilderness by Roddy Doyle • lots of white space, good typeface Refuge Cove by Lesley Choyce Orphan Ahwak by Raquel Rivera
History Marooned by Robert Kraske Heroes of Isle aux Morts by Alice Walsh Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr Escape to the Forest by Ruth Yaffe Radin
Biography/Memoir/Diaries My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary by Nadja Halilbegović Another Place at the Table by Mary Cook June Callwood: a life of action by Anne Dublin
Biography/Memoir/Diaries The Man Who Ran Faster than Anyone: The Story of Tom Longboat by Jack Batten Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis by John Cooper
Action The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner Libertad by Alma Fullerton Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring
Lifestyle My Wedding Dress by Susan Welehan and Anne Laurel Carter The Inuit by Erinn Banting (Canadian Aboriginal art and culture)
Humour (can be difficult to determine) Vinyl Café Unplugged by Stuart Mc. Lean
Cultural Diversity Deborah Ellis Paul Yee Dionne Brand – Earth Magic Chris Albani – Song for the Night Mariatu Kamara – The Bite of the Mango Joy Kogawa – Naomi’s Tree Veronica Charles – The Birdman
Series Deborah Ellis Parvana series Bolivia series
Short Stories Beginnings: Stories of Canda’s Past edited by Ann Walsh Fires by Tanya Lloyd Kyi Arctic Adventures: Tales from the Lives of Inuit Artists by Raquel Rivera Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee
Canadiana • Familiar to those who grew up in Canada • Of interest to newcomers who want to learn about their new home
Folktales C. J. Taylor aboriginal tales Tales from the Isle of Spice by Richardo Keens-Douglas The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba by Sheldon Oberman Ancient Thunder by Leo Yerxa
Read-alongs Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart Mc. Lean
Not So Popular X • Science Fiction • Fantasy (hard to suspend belief) • Plays • Graphic Novels (e. g. Paul Moves Out; Tales from the Farm) • Poetry: Earth Magic by Dionne Brand The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye To Everything There Is a Season (Ecclesiastes, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon)
Other Sources/Services • • Golden Oak Award Quick Reads Good Reads (fall 2010) Orca Raven Reads or Rapid Reads
Contact Information Marcia Aronson Ottawa Public Library Marcia. aronson@biblioottawalibrary. ca 613 -580 -2424 x 32114
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