Book of progressively harder reads

May 14, 2015 9:39 AM

I was a reluctant reader. My parents managed to get me to "level up" my reading to chapter books with a single-volume collection of several short stories that got progressively longer and more difficult as the book progressed. I want to order some for my school library if this concept is still a thing, but what do you even call this format/genre? And do you have any good suggestions?

Kids are 11-14 years old, and most are reading below grade level and/or learning English. I'll consider any topic but high interest is better than literary value (zombies of any kind > Brontes of any kind. Not that zombies don't have literary value, but you know what I mean.) I'd prefer to hear about books/resources your kids or kids you personally know enjoyed rather than what critics like or what gets a high rating or what won an award. I'll consider any format but may not be able to use effectively anything that requires a computer or media player or an internet connection, so I prefer hearing about books.

posted by blnkfrnk to Education (10 answers total)

I have children in elementary school. This concept exists and the system our school district uses is called Accelerated Reader. Students get tested for the AR level and they can determine what books to read based on those books' AR rating (listed as AR points). Just about all the books in their school's library have the AR rating listed on the spine. It is not any particular genre or series of books. You can look up AR points here. How about using a system like that?
posted by Tanizaki at 9:49 AM on May 14, 2015

These are often called "leveled readers." There are about a zillion different series. I'm surprised your library doesn't already have them, but I guess they are more popular in elementary schools. Usually reading/ell curriculums include them too.
posted by that's how you get ants at 10:00 AM on May 14, 2015

All I'm aware of currently are the leveled readers that people mention above, the typical one level per short book style, not a collection of shorter stories of increasing difficulty in one volume.

I haven't encountered any that are of the type you describe, but now I'm curious and going to see if I can find some.

Actually, I take that back. Early American readers were like that!!! McGuffey's Eclectic Reader is one example, though it's in six volumes plus a speller, I think. Those have been repeatedly republished because some homeschoolers find them highly usable. I'm pretty sure there are others.
posted by stormyteal at 10:48 AM on May 14, 2015

Paul Kropp?

For example...

The Crash: A school bus slides down a cliff in a snowstorm. The bus driver is out cold, one of the guys is badly hurt, and then the bus catches on fire.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:54 AM on May 14, 2015

See also High Interest Publishing.

I'm not a teacher or a librarian, but your question totally gave me an elementary school flashback about Kropp's books. Apparently he's still at it.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:59 AM on May 14, 2015

Not exactly what you're describing, but you might try searching for hi-lo books (high interest, low reading level). Also comics/graphic novels.
posted by the_blizz at 11:18 AM on May 14, 2015

McGuffey's Readers are basically what you're looking for, but, um, I don't think the interest level is there. It's a pretty low-zombie reader, if you know what I mean.
posted by telepanda at 12:49 PM on May 14, 2015

Response by poster: Definitely not looking for AR or other reading-level systems, but the "eclectic reader" style collection is the thing. Good suggestion, though! I knew there was a name for this kind of thing! I remember I had the McGuffy reprint, but what they got me into was more modern than that (or it was modern in 1989.)
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:30 PM on May 14, 2015

Response by poster: Also, we have tried AR levels and the kids HAAAAATE it. They hate being restricted to a single shelf/color code of "baby" books for the low levels, and if we intermix the titles, they hate having to interpret the points-- either way, it tanks my circulation.

I am mainly looking for stuff I can add that would work for independent reading if a kid I know has trouble reading asks me for a suggestion, or which I can booktalk to ELL classes confidently.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:36 PM on May 14, 2015

Not quite what you're looking for (I haven't seen any leveling-up readers), but I've seen a decent response to the Orca Hi/Lo books. The topics are trendy, the books are short, and the covers are actually interesting.
posted by carrioncomfort at 9:28 AM on May 15, 2015