Pleasure Reading for Adult Learners Finding Good Books for ESL and Literacy Students Marcia Aronson...

Pleasure Reading for Adult Learners

Finding Good Books for

ESL and Literacy Students

Marcia Aronson

Diversity and Accessibility Services, Ottawa Public Library

Selection Tips

• Key Criteria

• General Criteria

• Popular Categories

• Not So Popular Categories

Key Criteria

All of the following must be met:

Key Criteria

• Number of pages: 200 or less• Clear typeface: 12 point minimum; no italics or

funny graphics• Adult interest• Initial hook to engage reader• Attractive cover and format• No comprehension exercises• No level on front cover or title page

Examples

Number of Pages

Bud, Not Buddyby Christopher Paul Curtis

Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine

• similar themes (jazz, orphans)

• both great stories

• too long for most adult learners (245-280p.)

X

I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (205 p.)

Number of pages

Clear Typeface

Memories of Survivalby Esther Nisenthal Krinitz & Bernice Steinhardt

• type is very difficult to read

One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists by Janet Wilson

• very busy looking pages

X

Goose Girl by Joe and Martine McLellan

Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire

Adult Interest

Days of Toil and Tearsby Sarah Ellis

The Shade by K. L. Denman

Splat! by Eric Walters

• good typeface & length

• stories are juvenile or teen-oriented

X

Adult Interest

• teen protagonist, but storyline adult in nature

• homeless man who served in Rwanda during time of massacres

Adult Interest

The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring

• story about Dutch Resistance

Adult Interest

The Schooner’s Revenge by Robert Sutherland

• historical novel set during War of 1812

• good type• straightforward story

Initial Hook to Engage Reader

The Landing by John Ibbitson

• good story, but actual excitement starts at p. 138

Safe as Houses by Eric Walters

• again, hook is well into the story

X

Initial Hook to Engage Reader

Safe House by James Heneghan

• hook is at beginning

Attractive Cover & Format

A Bloom of Friendshipby Anne Renaud

• great story• on TPL’s list• really juvenile cover

X

Attractive Cover & Format

Boy in Motion: Rick Hansen’s Storyby Ainslie Manson

• terrible front cover

X

Attractive Cover & Format

Rosie’s Dream Capeby Zelda Freedman

• cover too juvenile?

No Level on Front Cover / Title Page

A Maze Meby Naomi Shihab Nye

• “poems for girls”

X

No Level on Front Cover / Title Page

Maggie and the Chocolate Warby Michelle Mulder

• “a kid’s power book”

X

No Comprehension Exercises

DraculaOxford Bookworms series

General Criteria

The majority of the following should be met:

General Criteria

• Sentences: average 15 words in length; not too complex in structure

• Paragraphs: no longer than 10 lines; lots of white space

• Chapters/Sections: clear headings; 6-7 pages long

• Interest Factors: well-known author, TV/movie tie-in, humour, cultural diversity, famous people, men’s and women’s interests, etc.

General Criteria (cont.)

• Structure: low complexity, i.e. minimal change of voice, minimal flashbacks and shifts in time periods, etc.

• Illustrations: pictures, maps, photographs or other visual aids, as appropriate

Examples

Sentences and Paragraphs

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

• great book, but sentences are long

Flight of the Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

• lovely fable, but forward and afterword are too complex

X

Sentences and Paragraphs

The Schooner’s Revenge by Robert Sutherland

• good sentence length and paragraph length

Interest Factors

Deborah Ellis

• well known author

• cultural diversity

Interest Factors

Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean

• radio personality

• humour

• available on CD

Interest Factors

The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner

• movie tie-in: The Great Escape

Escape to the Forestby Ruth Yaffe Radin

• movie tie-ins: – Defiance– The Bielski Brothers

Interest Factors

June Callwood: A Life of Action by Anne Dublin

• read about her in newspaper

Interest Factors

I.D. by Vicki Grant

• a lot in the news & on TV mysteries about the consequences of identity theft

Structure

The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux

• terrific story, but too descriptive• lots of adjectives & similes

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

• italic type• notes at bottom of pages• some terms may be unfamiliar (e.g.

“sharecropper”)

X

Structure

The Disappeared by Gloria Whelan

• set in Argentina

• chapters alternate between characters’ voices, but change of voice made clear through chapter headings

Joe Louis by David A. Adler

• not complex

• good story of real character who faced racism

Illustrations X

Wave by Suzy Lee

• illustrations too juvenile

Popular Categories

(and less popular ones)

Family Relationships (good and bad)

Rosie’s Dream Cape by Zelda Freedman

Crazy Man by Pamela Porter

• hired hand from mental institution & how he becomes important to well-being of family

Family Relationships (good and bad)

Letters to My Mother by Teresa Cárdenas

After by Francis Chalifour

Sports

Don Cherry’s Hockey Stories and Stuff

The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier

Mystery/Adventure

Refuge Cove by Lesley Choyce

Orphan Ahwak by Raquel Rivera

Safe House by James Heneghan

Wilderness by Roddy Doyle• lots of white space, good typeface

History

Marooned by Robert Kraske

Heroes of Isle aux Morts by Alice Walsh

Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine

Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr

Escape to the Forest by Ruth Yaffe Radin

Biography/Memoir/Diaries

My Childhood Under Fire:

A Sarajevo Diary

by Nadja Halilbegović

Another Place at the Table by Mary Cook

June Callwood: a life of action

by Anne Dublin

Biography/Memoir/Diaries

Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis by John Cooper

The Man Who Ran Faster than Anyone: The Story of Tom Longboat

by Jack Batten

Action

The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner

Libertad by Alma Fullerton

Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer

The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring

Lifestyle

My Wedding Dress

by Susan Welehan and Anne Laurel Carter

The Inuit by Erinn Banting

(Canadian Aboriginal art and culture)

Humour

Vinyl Café Unplugged

by Stuart McLean

(can be difficult to determine)

Cultural Diversity

Deborah Ellis

Paul Yee

Dionne Brand – Earth Magic

Chris Albani – Song for the Night

Mariatu Kamara – The Bite of the Mango

Joy Kogawa – Naomi’s Tree

Veronica Charles – The Birdman

Series

Parvana series Bolivia series

Deborah Ellis

Short Stories

Beginnings: Stories of Canda’s Past edited by Ann Walsh

Fires by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Arctic Adventures: Tales from the Lives of Inuit Artists

by Raquel Rivera

Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee

Canadiana

•Familiar to those who grew up in Canada•Of interest to newcomers who want to learn about their new home

Folktales

C. J. Taylor aboriginal tales

Tales from the Isle of Spice by Richardo Keens-Douglas

The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba

by Sheldon Oberman

Ancient Thunder by Leo Yerxa

Read-alongs

Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine

Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean

Not So Popular

• Science Fiction

• Fantasy (hard to suspend belief)

• Plays

• Graphic Novels (e.g. Paul Moves Out; Tales from the Farm)

• Poetry: Earth Magic by Dionne Brand

The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye

To Everything There Is a Season (Ecclesiastes, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon)

X

Other Sources/Services

• Golden Oak Award

• Quick Reads

• Good Reads (fall 2010)

• Orca Raven Reads or Rapid Reads

Contact Information

Marcia Aronson

Ottawa Public Library

Marcia.aronson@biblioottawalibrary.ca

613-580-2424 x 32114