Education Book Reviews

Reynolds, Marilyn (2004) I Won't Read and You Can't Make Me: Reaching Reluctant Teen Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

The basic idea underlying Marilyn Reynolds' I Won't Read and You Can't Make Me: Reaching Reluctant Teen Readers is that students would benefit greatly, both educationally and personally, from the development of a life long habit of reading for pleasure. This is something I, as a ninth English teacher, firmly believe. I also agree with Reynolds that part of my responsibility as a teacher is to help my students find success and enjoyment in reading by, in part, offering a large and varied collection of books that speak to a wide range of ability and interest. In fact, I believe most teachers would agree with Reynolds on these points. That is what draws us to a book such as hers. However, unfortunately for her readers, while Reynolds does clearly tempt us with these central beliefs as the motivating force behind her book, she does not deliver the in-depth discussion of practical application and theoretical support we expect. In fact, readers learn much more from I Won't Read about the life and works of Marilyn Reynolds than about the important task of motivating reluctant readers in the classroom.

Reynolds starts by telling us the story of her teaching years at "Misunderstood High School" where she ran a Self Selected Reading Workshop (SSR) part of the time and a Revision/Editing Workshop (devoted entirely to her own developing draft of her first young adult novel) the rest of the time. Thus begins what seems like little more than her eighty-four page commercial of the long line of books for teens that she has written. Reynolds goes on and on about how her books, on topics such as sexual abuse and drug addiction, have motivated young people everywhere to read. While this might indeed be true, her shameless self-promotion on practically every page is simply annoying and tiresome. She never misses the opportunity to mention a title or plot line from one of her many works of young adult fiction -- in fact she seems to have written I Won't Read just for that very purpose. There are excerpts from her novels. There are reviews of her novels. There are letters about her novels. There are stories about writing her novels. There is even a picture of a row of students, supposedly engrossed in SSR, that all just happen to be reading pristine copies of one of her many novels!

There is so much here about her own books that one wonders if she could have room for much else. But somehow, in this slim volume, she manages to also include a good portion of her entire life story. From her first creative writing class at Cal State University, to her self-doubt while writing a column for a failed newspaper, to coping with rejection as she began to send out her first manuscript, all the way through to her successful career as an established writer. And all this as she was going through a divorce and raising two kids after moving back in with her parents. (No, she unfortunately does not spare us any of the details!) These stories go far beyond brief anecdotes used as an example or to illustrate a meaningful point. Entire chapters are built around personal events from her life, making her book often read more like an autobiography than a professional resource. Reynolds even makes room in the appendix for several of her own essays that serve absolutely no purpose to her readers. One of the essays tells about a memory of Japanese Internment camps. The only thing she says about the essay is that it was written in creative writing class. The reader is simply left to wonder just how such information ever seemed relevant, or even appropriate, in a professional book such as this.

And while there is so much that she does choose to include in her first venture away from YA novels, there is also regrettably even more that she chooses not to include. It is unfortunate the latter makes up information that could be worthwhile and useful to teachers. There is no theory or research here behind her ideas and methods, only random anecdotal stories of students and colleagues (not all of which are very flattering). In terms of support for her methods, she offers only two sources of information; neither of which lend much credibility. The first is a vague mention of an undocumented Los Angeles Times article on a study that showed the "single most significant factor in determining a person's success in life to be whether they read for pleasure" (p. 5). The second is a self-administered informal survey she conducted at a single school. She also does little to show any connection between reading and writing and finding balance within the SSR curriculum. There is one chapter on writing, but the focus is on the importance of teachers writing in order to be the voice of education; and even Reynolds is unable to explain just how that particular chapter fits at the end of her "reluctant reader handbook."

There is one high point worth noting in I Won't Read that I do feel warrants a mention; that is her list of resources and information on how to effectively handle a book challenge and censorship in the classroom. Reynolds clearly explains proactive ways for educators to enlist the support of parents and the school administration in order to avoid the censoring of books. She also provides detailed information on how to professionally handle a book challenge and contact information of national groups that could assist you and your school in such an event. This information is invaluable for teachers using the methods of SSR in the classroom, where freedom of students to choose books relevant and interesting to them is paramount. Unfortunately, this is not enough to make the book worthwhile.

Overall, I think the reason I found I Won't Read to be such a disappointment is that I truly do believe in the effectiveness of self selected reading programs. I have researched and observed firsthand the positive effect SSR can have on students -- reluctant and avid readers alike. Reynolds, however, barely scratches the surface of the wealth of information available on SSR. Instead, she fills her chapters with irrelevant and disjointed information that tells us much more about her own personal life and works of fiction than it tells us about an effective way for teachers to truly help our kids succeed in reading. There are many practical and thorough resources available on the subject of SSR and Reading Workshop (notably those by Kylene Beers and Laura Robb). This book, however, isn't one of them.

References

Beers, Kylene. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Pp. 392. ISBN 0- 86709-519-9. $25.65

Robb, Laura. (2000). Teaching Reading in Middle School. New York: Scholastic Professional Books. Pp. 318. ISBN 0-590-6860-0. $23.95

Pages: 134     Price: $15.30     ISBN: 0-325-00605-9

Reviewed by Shannon Neary, Butler Traditional High School in Louisville Kentucky. In her five years as a public school educator, she has worked extensively in the area of reading instruction and currently teaches a collaborative reading class for struggling freshman readers who are significantly below grade level.

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