Why How-To Books Are Important for Tweens
Tweens (ages 9-14) are yearning for a sense of independence and are eager to take on new challenges. They have individual interests and grow in confidence when they learn new skills. Many tweens are also not big readers of fiction or “chapter books.” Good how-to books for tweens can entice even the most reluctant reader to stick his nose in a book. Reading becomes a tool, the means to an end, and this change in focus can entice tweens to read without even realizing that they are reading! How-to books that contain photographs or illustrations and that are laid out in an attractive manner beg to be browsed. They invite tweens to try something new and allow them to feel a sense of mastery. These books can be studied alone or they can be shared in a group. For all of these reasons, and just because they’re fun, we feel that it is important that every library (including the home library) should contain some of these wonderful how-to books.
How We Found These Books
When looking for recommendations of how-to books, we discovered that there were very few official tools available in selecting books in this genre. Even basic Google keyword searches like "how-to books for tweens" yielded very little. After searching award lists for how-to books like YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and ALSC's Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, we then turned to blogs and web sites featuring lists of nonfiction books for tween boys, including Jon Scieszka's Guys Read and James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead. Though we did not find any single titles that appealed to us, we did begin to discover the various topics covered in how-to books that tween boys would be interested in. With this in mind, we did multiple keyword searches on Amazon.com for different topics (skateboarding, drawing, papercraft, cooking, science experiments, computers/internet, video games, martial arts, building, robots, magic tricks, humor, and playing guitar/starting a band), and focused on books that were either listed as bestsellers or received four or five stars from customer reviews. We were also able to limit these searches by age, so that the books were appropriate for tweens. Once we narrowed our list down, we then checked the books out from the library to confirm their appropriateness. We also consulted Common Sense Media's web site for input on the books' appropriateness as well, and finally came up with our top ten picks.
Amazon.com. (2010). Age level information and reviews. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.amazon.com
American Library Association. (2010). ALSC's Robert F. Sibert informational book medal. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal/index.cfm
American Library Association. (2010). YALSA award for excellence in nonfiction for young adults. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/nonfiction/nonfiction.cfm
Commonsensemedia.org. (2010). Age level information and reviews. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.commonsensemedia.org
Guysread.com. (2010). How to build stuff. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.guysread.com/books/categories/category/how_to_build_stuff
Readkiddoread.com. (2010). Great pageturners and great advanced reads: Just the facts. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.readkiddoread.com/great-pageturners/just-the-facts and http://www.readkiddoread.com/great-advanced-reads/just-the-facts
