The consensus among the commenters on this blog is that there are some differences in the way boys and girls learn. Joe (o) defended the idea of single sex education.
As much as we think that boys should read books that have girls like, they really have their own tastes. You can’t really force them to read Caddy Woodlawn or Laura Ingalls. (For more ideas on great books for boys and for girls, see Kathleen Odean’s Great Books for Boys
With the kids all feverish, I’ve been breaking up extended TV viewing with boy book time. In heavy rotation in our home:
I Stink!
Green Eggs and Ham
No, David!
Nate The Great 
Apt. 11d 
Your links seem all mixed up…
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I know that my experience in a single-sex setting (Girl Guides) was overwhelmingly positive, especially around and after puberty. I think there is a lot of truth to the idea that girls (for example) will tend to try things in a single-sex setting that they might not try in a coed setting (such as chopping wood – in a co-ed setting, boys tend to gravitate to this kind of task – nuture or nature, i don’t know – and so girls don’t try).
However, I also think that the fact that children in a single-sex setting will tend to conform less to gender stereotypes doesn’t necessarily imply that there are no differences at all. Rather, single-sex settings tend to encourage a wider variety of interests, rather than making some off-limits because it’s what the other sex does.
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Here’s a great website to find books that boys like. I referred to it at the beginning of this year as it was my first experience in 4 years teaching adolexcent boys and I had no idea what they would read. It has suggestions for guys of all ages. The author who created the site also edited a book which has essays from male authors reflecting on the books they loved to read.
http://www.guysread.com/
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My data point of one boy, confirmed more broadly by my sister the teacher, is that often elementary-aged boys are more attracted to non-fiction. And while the girl will often re-read novels she loves, the boy will do that rarely.
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Funny, I just wrote a post a couple of days ago about the books that my (9 y.o.) son likes. He used to prefer non-fiction, but now science fiction & horror are even better.
I predict Captain Underpants in your future in a few more years. Maybe your boys would like Dav Pilkey’s stuff for younger kids – like Dogzilla & Cat Kong?
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I Stink is really good. I’m Mighty is also a hit with our son. However, the biggest interloper in the large-vehicles-all-the-time theme is Winnie the Pooh, in both the original and Disneyfied flavors, which seems pretty non-gendered.
Our two-year-old girl seems to show more of a preference for animal books than our son, such as Going to Sleep on the Farm.
The Maine-centric Lobster Man by Dahlov Ipcar is one they both pick out.
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Captain Underpants. Wonderful. Has taken my number 2 boy from reading-only-if-pressured to nose-in-a-book, reading good lines out loud to anyone who will listen, reading more than his required time for school. Myself, I like a little more character development and, well, elegance, but this works.
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Hey, great post!
Disclosure: I am married to the author, who tells me that those looking primarily for nonfiction should check out her least known book: Great Books About Things Kids Love.
I wish there had been a book like that when I was a kid. Whole sections on things like sports, puzzles, disasters, gems and minerals, and, my personal fave, transportation and engineering.
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re: different books for boys, my 7 year old has been digging some of the fiction classics I used to love.
We just finished our second Narnia book (Prince Caspian after the L W & W – I would skip the first one in the series it’s a snooze). He also loved the Dahl and EB White classics ( James and the Giant Peach, Matilda , Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Trumpet of the Swan, Charolotte’s Web etc..)
That being said, if it’s a science book about insects, sharks or snakes – he is there….
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I don’t know — Caddie Woodlawn and Laura Ingalls are pretty goody-goody. Have you tried female protagonists who get into more trouble like Eloise, Ramona, Junie B. Jones or later on, Harriet the Spy?
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This is an excellent site. It is important to remember that everybody has a different taste in reading, children and adults alike.
ReadingParents.com – You are invited to join my new parenting forum!
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Sigh. My son who sleeps with Barbie dolls still likes all the same books the girls do, and his sister was at least as Dinosaur-obsessed as he was, when they were. But it’s true that he’s far, far more interested in Star Wars then the girls, and I suppose we’ll run into more of these book dichotomies before too long.
That having been said: I know several elementary-aged boys who enjoyed the first two Laura Ingalls books. Lots of stuff about living on the prairies, I suppose. And they loved Farmer Boy. But it’s true that the books lost them after that.
No one in our family liked “No, David.” I don’t know why, it caught me off-guard.
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I’m with Jody – my kids didn’t get the “girls like x and boys like y” memo.
My 6 year old girl does math for fun and is obsessed with dinosaurs. My 3 year old boy has listened to all of the “Little House” books and plays with his sisters dolls all the time. Sure, he likes trains and trucks too – but so far, he hasn’t shown a literary preference for “boy” books.
We are reading “A Wrinkle in Time” right now. Reading it has convinced me that I simply must re-read all of my childhood favorites. It is NOT the same book I remember reading as a kid. (I really hope that my kids still let me read the books to them as they continue to learn to read on their own…)
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My nearly-6-year-old has enjoyed all of the Laura Ingalls books – he checks out the next one from the library at school when we finish one, of his own volition. We’re reading These Happy Golden Years right now.
The first two Laura books do have a lot of adventure, and Laura’s not a goody-goody in those.
That said, he loves the Ramona books and liked Eloise. I definitely will read him Harriet the Spy when he gets older. He also likes all of the E.B. White books, the Oz books, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, the Edward Eager magic books, and the Narnia books.
When he was 4, he asked why boys always do the rescuing in books and movies, and so we made a concerted effort to find books and movies with girl heroes. Whenever we read one, he’d say, “There’s another girl hero!” (Examples: The Paper Bag Princess, Petronella, The Princess Knight). I look forward to reading the Robin McKinley books (The Blue Sword, The Hero and The Crown, The Outlaws of Sherwood) with him as he gets older.
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Ginger, I think that spam is bad for kids, of either sex. Thanks for your many suggestions, but we’ll have to pass 🙂
Laura, a co-worker with a three-year old had a bad experience with ‘No, David’; her son thought that it was a list of suggestions.
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Movies Girls
This Disney Channel original movie is the All right, because this discussion has sprung u
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Anal Boy
After he dumped me AR, like all true bad boys do eventually, turned out to be a jerk. We even
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