I’ve been thinking a lot about genre and how this can sometimes support young readers in making book choices. Understanding the conventions can add a security in choice, a bit “if you like this, you might like that”
As a child I was very much addicted to Sci-Fi. It was what I read, Tripods, Doctor Who novels into John Wyndham then onto Philip K Dick and then Asimov. Knowing those books led me to read more. Finding an Author that was mine was a gateway to further reading.
With that in mind I started to compile some lists for children in our school. In our curriculum we ensure a range of texts are read to classes both in diversity but also in genre. The hope is to expose children to different authors and genres so that they can find their “author”, their “genre”, the books that sing to them.
I chose these books because I love them. This has given me a route to discuss the books with children. Talking about books is almost as important as reading about them. The books are on display, with other by the authors. Being a passionate reader is a little bit like collecting football stickers or Pokémon. “I gotta read ‘em all”
Here are the Book lists so far… these lists are genre starters not end points.
Science-Fiction
Horror/Scary
Real Life
Historical Fiction
Adventures
Animal fiction
Fantasy
Genre Defiers
Mystery and Thrillers…
Hope they are useful…
Being Brave! a first time headteachers blog. 