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Are Blockbuster Books Encouragement Enough for Apathetic Teens?

The last decade has seen the emergence of iconic characters springing up from the pages of popular literature onto the big screen, boosting book readership amongst teenagers in the process.
Leisure - 2 June 2011   Download IconContent available for download:  
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  News Hooks:

Last year, whilst 81% of girls achieved A* - C grades for GCSE English Literature, the boys lagged over 10% behind (70% of boys achieved this result). According to a study, the biggest single indicator of a younger person's future success at school is whether they read for pleasure and recent research has found that the majority of secondary school boys are not reading beyond the 100th page of a book.

A quarter of teachers said that the interest cut-off point for boys reading novels happened within the first few pages. Meanwhile, school library services providing books to more than half a million pupils have been axed in the last year. Some of England’s largest local authorities have scrapped their services as budgets are squeezed.

With global book sales of over 400 million, Harry Potter has become one of the UK’s most treasured literary figures. This summer the final installment of the series’ film adaptation draws the saga to a close. Latest yearly sales figures of young adult fiction totaled £50.2m, up by 89% on the previous

Year. Young adult sales were buoyed largely by Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series which contributed heavily to teen fiction sales this year, but even without her contribution there has still been an uplift in teen fiction sales to £23.8m.

. Introduction:

The final film installment of the Harry Potter saga draws to a close this summer and fans of teen fiction across the nation are eagerly awaiting the next literary hero to catapult onto the silver screen. Whilst Twilight’s heroine Bella Swan emerged from a series by American writer Stephanie Meyer, J.K.Rowling’s success has proved the best of teen fiction talent is home grown here in the UK. The monumental success of these epic tales have appealed to both teen boys and girls, whilst in the classroom the desire for adventure and excitement has left boys underperforming compared to their female counterparts.

So as we say farewell to a British literary icon this summer on the big screen, how can we maintain and improve our teenagers’ relationship with books?

Joining us to discuss this further is teen-lit author Moira Young, author of Blood Red Road.

. Suggested Questions:

What can you tell us about the younger generation's attitude towards reading in our area?

Why is reading so important to their development?

Why do you think local authorities are cutting school library services – and what will this mean for our kids?

In your opinion, what are the necessary elements of a book to keep teens engaged when reading?

How do you feel about elevating literary stars onto the silver screen – and is it a good thing that books are turned into blockbusters?

Where can our listeners find out more information?