“Reading Unbound: Why Kids Need to Read What They Want and Why We Should Let Them” has been chosen by the National Council of Teachers of English as the winner of the 2016 David H. Russell Research Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English. The award is one of NCTE’s highest honors for scholarly contributions to English education research.
“Reading Unbound” was written by Jeffrey Wilhelm, professor of English at Boise State University, and Michael Smith, professor of philosophy at Australian National University.
“This study makes the case that pleasure reading is a civil right, since it is the most explanatory factor in cognitive progress and social mobility over time,” Wilhelm said.
Jeffrey Wilhelm
The book is divided into two parts: Part One provides an in-depth exploration of the nature and variety of the pleasure avid adolescent readers experience through their out-of-school reading. Part Two identifies and explains the genres teen readers most enjoy — romance, vampires, dystopian fiction and science fiction/fantasy.
Wilhelm and Smith explore what we can learn from teens’ pleasure reading and the implications for instruction in this era of Common Core State Standards. The authors look at the long-lasting benefits of allowing students to read popular fiction at home and at school, and looks at ways to leverage these texts to promote more engaged and proficient reading.
The award selection committee noted that, “’Reading Unbound’ translates research and theory into a joyous celebration of what Deborah Brandt might call ‘everyday reading.’ At a time when ‘grit,’ ‘text complexity,’ and ‘Lexile levels’ seem to be dominating the discussion, ‘Reading Unbound’ gives voice to avid readers who describe the various pleasures they experience as they read.”
This is the second time Wilhelm and Smith have won this award; they also won in 2001 for their study about boys and reading titled “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys.”
BY: KATHLEEN TUCK PUBLISHED 1:21 PM / NOVEMBER 17, 2016