Bibliotherapy #2: I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely
Literary prescriptions for a struggling middle-grader not wanting to be singled out, a teenage teacher-hater, and a kid who isn't fitting in with their classmates.
Welcome back to bibliotherapy! And thank you, once again, for sending through your reader profiles for me to work through. There are some interesting ones this week, all with themes of fitting in, and feeling safe and connected at school, in more ways than one. Let’s dive in!
My first patient is a Year 5 student with a reading age of about a Year 1. Their librarian says:
The teacher has asked for some decodables she can borrow. I'm hesitant as our library time with classes is really about building reading for pleasure. The types of books I see her borrowing every week are the Ella Diaries, graphic novels—more cosy than mature content. She would not want to be 'singled out' or given a 'baby' book. I struggle to get Barrington Stoke books into my readers hands as the illustrations aren't 'fun' and the books look different to what their friends read.
The (potentially) right book:
The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby
This series could be spot on for your reader! It has a similar format to something like Ella Diaries, with relatable and realistic writing to hook readers in. I think they walk a good line between easy-going and more ‘grown up’ storylines, and the illustrations work well to break up the text, without seeming too babyish. The sense of humour and conversational language in the series is great. Worlds away from Barrington Stoke. (I feel your pain. They’ve never really worked for my readers, either.)
There might be slightly more text than your reader is used to. See how they go. My hope would be that the content lures them in, and they’re willing to work just a tiny bit harder. That’s not to say they’re not already, and I don’t know what kinds of struggles they’re having to deal with in terms of something like dyslexia or other more serious reading challenges. I don’t want to put them off completely! But it may be worth a try.
There are quite a few books in the Lottie Brooks series, so hopefully your student likes them and wants to keep reading! If they have a supportive family, this could be a really nice shared read-aloud with parents at home, too.
Otherwise, if we really have to go down the decodables path, I’d be looking at Sally Rippin’s books long before more traditional decodables for a student like this, especially one who is conscious of not having to read books that seem childish compared to her peers’. Billy B Brown books may seem a little young from their slim size and sparse text, but now there are bind-up versions that have the appearance of being more complex novels, while still being comparable to something like Ella Diaries in content. Of course, each book is carefully designed with short chapters, decodable vocabulary (without it being glaringly obvious) and lots of illustrations. They could work!
If you’re happy to lean into their love of graphic novels (and I think you should!) try something like Kev and Trev (which I have recommended previously for a similar albeit slightly younger reader) or Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat. There are plenty of comics that are accessible for struggling readers, yet still have content that won’t seem too young for a Year 5. I’m sure you’re all over Raina Telgemeier but there are lots of similar ones, like the Emmie & Friends series or Making Friends series.
The (potentially) right book for a Year 10 girl who doesn’t like her teacher:
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