1. Pleasure Reading for Adult Learners Finding Good Books for ESL and Literacy Students Marcia Aronson Diversity and Accessibility Services, Ottawa Public Library

2. Selection Tips Key Criteria General Criteria Popular Categories Not So Popular Categories

3. Key Criteria All of the following must be met:

4. Key Criteria Number of pages: 200 or less Clear typeface: 12 point minimum; no italics or funny graphics Adult interest Initial hook to engage reader Attractive cover and format No comprehension exercises No level on front cover or title page

5. Examples

6. Number of Pages Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine similar themes (jazz, orphans) both great stories too long for most adult learners (245-280p.) X

7. I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (205 p.) Number of pages

8. Clear Typeface Memories of Survival by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz & Bernice Steinhardt type is very difficult to read One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists by Janet Wilson very busy looking pages X

9. Goose Girl by Joe and Martine McLellan

10. Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire

11. Adult Interest Days of Toil and Tears by Sarah Ellis The Shade by K. L. Denman Splat! by Eric Walters good typeface & length stories are juvenile or teen-oriented X

12. Adult Interest teen protagonist, but storyline adult in nature homeless man who served in Rwanda during time of massacres

13. Adult Interest The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring story about Dutch Resistance

14. Adult Interest The Schooners Revenge by Robert Sutherland historical novel set during War of 1812 good type straightforward story

15. Initial Hook to Engage Reader The Landing by John Ibbitson good story, but actual excitement starts at p. 138 Safe as Houses by Eric Walters again, hook is well into the story X

16. Initial Hook to Engage Reader Safe House by James Heneghan hook is at beginning

17. Attractive Cover & Format A Bloom of Friendship by Anne Renaud great story on TPLs list really juvenile cover X

18. Attractive Cover & Format Boy in Motion: Rick Hansens Story by Ainslie Manson terrible front cover X

19. Attractive Cover & Format Rosies Dream Cape by Zelda Freedman cover too juvenile?

20. No Level on Front Cover / Title Page A Maze Me by Naomi Shihab Nye poems for girls X

21. No Level on Front Cover / Title Page Maggie and the Chocolate War by Michelle Mulder a kids power book X

22. No Comprehension Exercises Dracula Oxford Bookworms series

23. General Criteria The majority of the following should be met:

24. General Criteria Sentences: average 15 words in length; not too complex in structure Paragraphs: no longer than 10 lines; lots of white space Chapters/Sections: clear headings; 6-7 pages long Interest Factors: well-known author, TV/movie tie-in, humour, cultural diversity, famous people, mens and womens interests, etc.

25. General Criteria (cont.) Structure: low complexity, i.e. minimal change of voice, minimal flashbacks and shifts in time periods, etc. Illustrations: pictures, maps, photographs or other visual aids, as appropriate

26. Examples

27. Sentences and Paragraphs Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George great book, but sentences are long Flight of the Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas lovely fable, but forward and afterword are too complex X

28. Sentences and Paragraphs The Schooners Revenge by Robert Sutherland good sentence length and paragraph length

29. Interest Factors Deborah Ellis well known author cultural diversity

30. Interest Factors Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean radio personality humour available on CD

31. Interest Factors The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner movie tie-in: The Great Escape Escape to the Forest by Ruth Yaffe Radin movie tie-ins: –Defiance –The Bielski Brothers

32. Interest Factors June Callwood: A Life of Action by Anne Dublin read about her in newspaper

33. Interest Factors I.D. by Vicki Grant a lot in the news & on TV mysteries about the consequences of identity theft

34. Structure The Killers Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux terrific story, but too descriptive lots of adjectives & similes Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges italic type notes at bottom of pages some terms may be unfamiliar (e.g. sharecropper) X

35. Structure The Disappeared by Gloria Whelan set in Argentina chapters alternate between characters voices, but change of voice made clear through chapter headings Joe Louis by David A. Adler not complex good story of real character who faced racism

36. Illustrations X Wave by Suzy Lee illustrations too juvenile

37. Popular Categories (and less popular ones)

38. Family Relationships (good and bad) Rosies Dream Cape by Zelda Freedman Crazy Man by Pamela Porter hired hand from mental institution & how he becomes important to well-being of family

39. Family Relationships (good and bad) Letters to My Mother by Teresa Cárdenas After by Francis Chalifour

40. Sports Don Cherrys Hockey Stories and Stuff The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier

41. Mystery/Adventure Refuge Cove by Lesley Choyce Orphan Ahwak by Raquel Rivera Safe House by James Heneghan Wilderness by Roddy Doyle lots of white space, good typeface

42. History Marooned by Robert Kraske Heroes of Isle aux Morts by Alice Walsh Hanas Suitcase by Karen Levine Emperors of the Ice by Richard Farr Escape to the Forest by Ruth Yaffe Radin

43. Biography/Memoir/Diaries My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary by Nadja Halilbegovi ć Another Place at the Table by Mary Cook June Callwood: a life of action by Anne Dublin

44. Biography/Memoir/Diaries Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis by John Cooper The Man Who Ran Faster than Anyone: The Story of Tom Longboat by Jack Batten

45. Action The Tunnel King by Barbara Hehner Libertad by Alma Fullerton Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer The Righteous Smuggler by Debbie Spring

46. Lifestyle My Wedding Dress by Susan Welehan and Anne Laurel Carter The Inuit by Erinn Banting (Canadian Aboriginal art and culture)

47. Humour Vinyl Café Unplugged by Stuart McLean (can be difficult to determine)

48. Cultural Diversity Deborah Ellis Paul Yee Dionne Brand – Earth Magic Chris Albani – Song for the Night Mariatu Kamara – The Bite of the Mango Joy Kogawa – Naomis Tree Veronica Charles – The Birdman

49. Series Parvana seriesBolivia series Deborah Ellis

50. Short Stories Beginnings: Stories of Candas Past edited by Ann Walsh Fires by Tanya Lloyd Kyi Arctic Adventures: Tales from the Lives of Inuit Artists by Raquel Rivera Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee

51. Canadiana Familiar to those who grew up in Canada Of interest to newcomers who want to learn about their new home

52. Folktales C. J. Taylor aboriginal tales Tales from the Isle of Spice by Richardo Keens-Douglas The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba by Sheldon Oberman Ancient Thunder by Leo Yerxa

53. Read-alongs Hanas Suitcase by Karen Levine Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean

54. Not So Popular Science Fiction Fantasy (hard to suspend belief) Plays Graphic Novels ( e.g. Paul Moves Out ; Tales from the Farm) Poetry: Earth Magic by Dionne Brand The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye To Everything There Is a Season (Ecclesiastes, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon) X

55. Other Sources/Services Golden Oak Award Quick Reads Good Reads (fall 2010) Orca Raven Reads or Rapid Reads

56. Contact Information Marcia Aronson Ottawa Public Library Marcia.aronson@biblioottawalibrary.ca 613-580-2424 x 32114