The Wall Street Journal has a front page story today about getting boys to read by using the grossest subjects possible, including putrefying wounds, farting, rats, toilets, and lots of blood.
I am glad to see Captain Underpants still on the list of popular books for boys. But I think the WSJ story misses one key element: humor. Boys want humor in their books and the lower and sillier the humor, the better. Even the gross books have to have a sense of humor about the subject to work best.
Captain Underpants works because of the silliness, not the gross-out factor. Jeff Kinney’s very successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid works because of the humor. And even older funny books like Judy Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing will be adored by modern kids. It’s the giggles that keep them reading, especially in the summer.
Waking Brain Cells 
Hi,
I grew up as a reluctant reader. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries, especially for tween boys, that kids hate to put down. I chose a different route concerning the content that I thought kids would like.
My web site is at http://www.maxbooks.9k.com and my Books for Boys blog is at http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
Ranked by Accelerated Reader
Max Elliot Anderson
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When I was in fifth grade, lo those many years ago, the boys in my class were crazy about the Hardy Boys books. They read them voraciously and even formed a Hardy Boys club. They grew up to be fine husbands and productive citizens. Don’t worry. I buy the gross books for my library, but I wonder why today’s boys need this junk to read – and what it says about the kind of men they will become.
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