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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
613-580-2424 x 32114
