Matching boys with books

"We found that boys were more interested in the text" with such an approach, Johnson reports. Minus the "baby stuff," he recommends the same techniques in the upper grades.

At Haverford, Mr. Peck tells parents who ask what their sons should read, "Any kind of reading is good."

But he also notes that boys today may not be able to tackle the harder material their fathers picked up at the same age.

Today's student tends to be a less sophisticated reader, he says.

"We just can't assign as much reading as we could 25 years ago. There aren't many boys who do much reading," says Peck. "There will always be that one-third who can handle long and complex titles." But the rest of the class falters. So he tends to opt for shorter books, short stories, poetry, and plays.

Typically, ninth- and tenth-grade reading succeeds when it hooks the students in on a personal level. In "The Catcher in the Rye," J.D. Salinger's phony adults, messed-up teachers, and cynical, emotionally chaotic Holden Caulfield continue to engage students. "What's not to like for a teenager?" Peck asks. They also see themselves in the rivalries in John Knowles's classic "A Separate Peace," and, often, in the father-son conflict in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman."

For older students, he says, he chooses from a variety of "the powerless fight back" titles, aiming to provoke a more sophisticated response.

"What always matters most is - is this a book that touches me?" he says. "How do [the characters] respond when they are under great emotional pressure by the demands life places on them?"

Such is the case even for male college students, says Robert Wilkinson, professor of English at Villanova University. "Red Badge of Courage," Stephen Crane's classic story of testing, failure, and opportunity for redemption in battle, is a favorite of the men in his American literature classes, prompting the classic response, "What would I do under the same circumstances?" he explains.

Faculty at Haverford School have cut back on some classic authors whose ideas are important but whose style is difficult, according to Peck. "We do less Emerson, less Thoreau - these are very demanding texts," he says, adding that a semester's reading now moves more quickly through shorter books. Sometimes a title once assigned in an earlier grade is now taught in a later grade, when today's students are more ready for it.

Boys do well when they choose what they read, says Ms. Milliken. "I'd suggest the teachers not say 'Read these three books,' but 'Here are five books, choose three." And a so-so reader should start with simple, interesting material, saving the complex until he has gained confidence, she adds.

What elements will make for a sure-fire boys' beach book this summer?

"Is there an exciting physical challenge?" Peck asks. "Is the character responding with courage? With male competence?"

In other words, he says, think Robert Ludlum - not Danielle Steel.

High school boys looking for a good summer read might consider the following titles, recommended by seniors at the all-boys Haverford School.

For an overall enjoyable read:

Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies

Lord of the Flies, by William Gerald Golding

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Boy's Life, by Tobias Wolff

Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling

Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissinger

I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe

This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

Feeling lazy?

Try John Grisham's Rainmaker, Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, novels by Stephen King and Agatha Christie, and autobiographies of athletes.

Feeling ambitious?

Haverford literary favorites include some of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, or John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Other individual favorites:

Travel books by Paul Theroux

The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence, by Ray Kurzweil

E=MC2: a Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation, by David Bodanis,

The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas Friedman, on globalization

Darwin's Radio, by Greg Bear, a popular summer reading assignment from the science department

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