Reader’s Advisory with School-aged Children

Matching the right book with the right child is very important for many reasons:

• You want to make sure the child is able to read it.
  That is, the child has the skill level to read and comprehend what he or she reads.
• You want to make sure the child wants to read it .
  Making a child read a book they are not interested in is counterproductive. That is not to say you cannot get him/her interested in it, for example, reading books together in the classroom.
• You want to make sure the child reads another book.
  Turn him/her on to books, not off. Making reading a habit is our goal.

Match the reading level of the book with the reading level of the child. Allowing some room for challenge is fine, but if the book is too difficult, the reader will lose interest or become frustrated.

Five finger rule:
Have the child read the first page aloud. Each time a word is unknown one finger goes up. If the child reaches 5 fingers (5 words) within one page, that book is too hard.

Other key reader's advisory strategies:

• Ask if the book is for an assignment or “just for fun”.
• Ask their age or grade. This assists you in estimating reading level. But remember that children do not always read on grade level, some are above and some are below, so follow-up with additional questions and actions.
• Ask for a book they’ve read and liked. This provides insight into interests and provides a point of reference for what to suggest. Oh, you’ve read Harriet the Spy, perhaps you’d like to read about another strong and special young lady named Matilda…no, maybe it’s the detective in Harriet you like, what about Sammy Keyes…and so on.
• Show some samples - open them up. Kids will look for and react to things such as print size, white space and illustrations; then you will be able to gauge interest and comfort level.
• Pull 3-5 different titles and leave them with the child to peruse and choose from. Don’t be discouraged by immediate responses, sometimes it takes a little more time to make a decision.

If you work in a public library, you will undoubtedly encounter the parent and child who approach together. The parent asks for a good book for the child, the child looks anywhere but at you or the books.  Or you might see the case where the child wants one thing but the parent desires a “better” book. Both of these cases require special care. In the first, you need to draw the child into the interaction and get him or her interested in selecting the book while easing the parent out of the conversation. In the second, you need to find a compromise. Engage the two in dialog about what they each want and suggest titles that might fill both needs or suggest they take two, the child’s choice and the parents with the understanding that the child will read both.

Some other common scenarios are:

• Absolutes: girls who are only looking for horse books; boys looking only for books like Hatchet (or vice-versa). Using reader’s advisory tools such as What do Children Read Next or the online Novelist database can help here. If this is common, create booklist bookmarks to use and hand out that cover these specific requests.
• Reluctant readers or non-readers: children not comfortable with books who absolutely have to find something to read during “free read” time or to complete an accelerated reader test. Here too, a clever bookmark like “Silly Superheroes” could include a Captain Underpants title, a Ricky Ricotta title, a Time Warp Trio title, etc., all of which are very popular with reluctant readers.
• Advanced readers: children reading well beyond their age/grade. Here you need to balance a challenging read with one that has content at the proper maturity level. Just because a fourth grader could read Stephen King, doesn’t mean he or she should. Classics and award winners are good bets, but become familiar with other options ahead of time and make a list for yourself and other staff. It will pay off.

Whether in a school or public library, you no doubt encounter Accelerated Reader™ reader’s advisory. Accelerated Reader™ (AR) programs are found in schools across the country. With AR, children make selections from a predetermined series of books rated by reading level and, after reading the book, take a computerized test to determine comprehension and confirm reading level. Children are awarded a certain number points per book and collect points for rewards. School libraries base purchases on the school AR list, they have all the school list books available for students, and public libraries attempt to gather various area school lists to make them available for children and parents to choose library books from, although they may not have many of the books on the list. Even within a small public library collection, there should be enough titles within a certain level for children to choose from. Many paperback books have the reading level listed on the back, but hardcover books do not, so it would be difficult to determine exact level without looking at the list.

The Accelerated Reader™ program has drawn both accolades and concerns among educators and librarians, with many professionals still on the fence.

Pros include: kids discussing books and reading voraciously, professionals having a better handle on reading level and thus sense of understanding of material.

Cons include: rewards-base tricks kids into reading and points can become a motivator instead of a love of reading.
Many public library parent-child/staff interactions begin with “Do you have the ___ School’s AR list?” and librarians often are required to recommend off the list. Another common question parents ask is “Just what do the listed levels mean?” The key thing to remember is a child in fourth grade may actually be reading on a 2.8 AR level. Schoolchildren generally know from previous testing at what level they should look, but parents may not understand that reading level does not necessarily correlate with grade. Having school AR (list) binders in the public library serves area families very well.

Effective reader’s advisory puts the right book in the hands of the reader. In order to accomplish this, staff needs to know the collection pretty well, but should not be expected to know it all. They should be encouraged to read widely, push their limits, and become familiar with many genres by reading a sampling of titles or at least one classic in the genre. They should work to be aware of authors or series, and have read at least a small representation of titles in different parts of the collection. Having access to, and regularly reading, library journals and book reviews will aid in developing at least a cursory familiarity with authors and titles from which to draw upon at just the right moment.

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