"This week and next will be very busy as we come to the end of the quarter," said Big Sky librarian Christine Fogerty. "They've got to get their Reading Counts tests in."
Reading Counts is a program most of Big Sky's English teachers are using to encourage more self-directed reading. Students pick one book a quarter to read on their own and take a 10-question quiz to confirm their effort. The program comes with a 10,000-title database of quizzes. Students may also add their own books to the list with a teacher's OK.
So popular, it showed up in a tie for 15th place in a review of the Reading Counts quiz frequency tally. Part of that may be its high profile as a popular movie. But there also appears to be a growing hallway network of reading recommendations, teachers say. For example, the 1971 fictional anonymous diary "Go Ask Alice" is the most frequently quizzed title at Big Sky, despite being on no assigned reading list.
"That's just word of mouth - one person told another person," Big Sky English teacher Jean Croxton said of "Go Ask Alice." "It effectively makes them (young readers) like the rest of us, where our friends say, 'You've got to read this - it's really good.' It takes it out of that reading directed by your teachers, and makes it a more true reading community."
The five "Harry Potter" books weigh in at second, third, fifth and 11th place ("Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets" tied at 11). Dave Pelzer has two titles in the top 15: "A Child Called 'It' " and "The Lost Boy." And J.R.R. Tolkien has his entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy also tied at 11th place, although it's typically broken into three novels.
Croxton said she was pleased with how Rowling's books had encouraged young people to read more on their own. She added that the books were having a springboard effect as well.
"As a result of 'Harry Potter,' I'm seeing them reading (Frank Herbert's) 'Dune' and other sophisticated science fiction," Croxton said. "It's been a boon to young readers."
The list includes a number of war horse titles such as John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," and J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." Croxton said some of those are assigned by other history or social studies classes, while some are popular despite being on a reading list (particularly "Catcher in the Rye").
Big Sky is the only Missoula high school using the Reading Counts program. Sentinel has a similar reading requirement based on a number of pages read per quarter, while individual Hellgate teachers arrange their own requirements.
Many young readers follow a kind of brand loyalty, said assistant children's librarian Rita Squires at the Missoula Public Library. Gary Paulsen's "Hatchet" made the top 15, while his "Brian's Winter" and "Brian's Return" were just below that top shelf. Louise Rennison titles were scattered throughout the bottom of the list, including "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging," "Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas" and "On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God."
"I think they get their interests from their friends more than the media," Squires said. Picking up a copy of "Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare," she added, "I'd never heard of this until all these kids come in asking for it."
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com
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