Drawing upon the vast knowledge and experience of four reading professionals, the webinar introduces viewers to a variety of books recommendations and engagement strategies for working with reluctant readers. The webinar is presented by an instruction consultant, a youth librarian, an educator and a children’s book publisher. The diverse set of perspectives offers a similarly diverse set of tools for working with students, which is useful when considering the range of reluctant readers out there. Practical tips for and a list of resources will be appreciated by educators. The tone varies depending on the presenter, but overall the webinar has a friendly, helpful approach. Teachers, librarians, and parents alike will find useful information from this hour-long presentation. Recommended. ( )

The publishers ABDO, Abrams, Lorimer, Orca, and Saddleback share their popular and new material relating to reluctant readers this webinar hosted by ALA Publishing Webinars. Each publisher divulges their collections from comic books to hi-lo life skill books for adults. The webinar describes reluctant readers as commonly being boys in middle-school; therefore, much of the material is aimed at the group. They do, however, also provide material for girls, young readers, Spanish-speakers, digital books, as well as quizzes and teachers’ guides for educators. An interesting concept that a few of the publishers voice is that we create reluctant readers by not providing then with the right material—something that captures their interests at the their reading level. The webinar also demonstrates that a few publishers offer bundles of various titles gathered by reading level, which could be a useful tool for librarians who are building their collection. While the webinar provided lots of useful information on products, some of the slides seemed more sales pitchy than informative. A recommended tool for educators and librarians to help build their reluctant reader collection. ( )

Whoever said there weren’t a lot of books for reluctant readers available today? The November 2011 Booklist Webinar – Reaching Reluctant Readers - lists virtually hundreds of titles from every reading level to choose from. Listeners hear from Abdo Publishing and their plethora of popular comics including multiple Marvel series, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones books accompanied by a host of reasons why these titles should not be considered inferior reading material. Jason Well and Susan Van Metre from Abrams Books show up to discuss new books in their reluctant readers’ arsenal; among which are new editions to The Popularity Papers, Free Thaddeus, and the Sidekicks series. They also featured a great option for kids who come to librarians or teachers asking to read something about music – enter “Struts and Frets” a story about the misadventures of a young garage band. Also in the lineup was Tim McHugh of Saddleback Publishing showcasing his edgier lines for high-interest, low-level readers that appeal to kids who live very mature lives without the vocabulary to support them. He mentions the provocative Lorimer Sidestreet series comprised of realistic, issue-based fiction dealing with mature themes. Some presenters’ slides were more conducive to a webinar, screening actual covers and dropping pertinent review quotes, while others were lacking in the visual production department, but not everyone can be a rock star. A note to Booklist webinar editors: in today’s age of audio recording technology, there’s no reason the voices in your webinars need sound like they’re speaking into a foam cup, one thousand feet underground, in a WWII bunker. ( )

With contributions from Orca Publishers, Abdo Publishing, Abrahms Books for Young Readers, Saddleback Publishers, and Lorimer Publishing, this webinar covered a wide variety of books for the reluctant and struggling reader population. Comic books and graphic novels were the main focus, although regular text-heavy books were also discussed. All of the panelists mentioned the audience of reluctant and struggling readers to be predominantly male, and the book selection was skewed accordingly, although many panelists did make sure to display several selections for the female struggling or reluctant reader. Overall a highly informative webinar. Recommended for librarians and teachers new to the reluctant or struggling reader world. ( )