Okay, maybe I’m getting defensive because I have two boys. One is a reader. One is not…yet.

But why are boys put into a box when it comes to reading?

I’m tired of the excuses. Video games. Technology. Short attention spans. To a certain degree, I disagree. I dare to disagree.

Boys have more than one side. (I’m sure no one would argue that.)

Fun. Compassionate. Competitive. Sensitive. Caring. Silly. Serious. Shallow. Deep- thinking. Protective. Aggressive. Off the wall. Focused. Impulsive. Thoughtful.

Can’t they love video games, Captain Underpants, Garfield, graphic novels and enjoy other books too? Don’t get me wrong I love am okay with Captain Underpants when it gets boys into reading. And who doesn’t like a light, fun read?

Back to my son who isn’t a voracious reader yet. He can read. But he’ll only read Magic Tree House and Nate the Great. And he’s read all of them. I think he’s stuck. A little scared of pages with more print and less pictures.

But, I’m not ready to stuff him into a tiny box with duct tape labeled “non reader”.

He’ll get there. And if not, I’ll try my hardest to find books that appeal to him.

Reasons teen boys might not read a lot:

• Practice for sports is every day.
• More socialization.
• Most YA books have pictures of girls on the front?
• More homework. 
• More social events on the weekends.
• Teens sleep more and later on weekends.
• Maybe they think it’s not cool? (I hope not!)
• Hard to find a section at the library for them.
• Habit – from a young age we don’t limit t.v. or video games?

Am I missing any reasons?  (And, of course, this does not apply to all boys. There are plenty of girls too who might not like to read.)

What do you think? Do we sell boys short when it comes to what they might read? And hence, what we offer them?