As a former Deseret News and now Salt Lake Tribune columnist and author (The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love), Ann Cannon has managed to keep plenty of people engaged in reading. But as a mother of five sons, she also knows firsthand what education studies have been telling us for years: Boys generally lag behind their female peers in reading scores, and much more rarely turn into lifelong pleasure readers.
In a special presentation sponsored by The King’s English Bookshop, Cannon offers her perspectives on how to narrow that reading gender gap. Her experience not just as a mother and writer but as a teacher and bookseller, have informed her thoughts on strategies for engaging boys in reading, and which specific titles can fan the flames of book love. And while the subject is youngsters, the discussion is intended for adults only. Leave the kids at home this time, and next time you’ll be leaving them with a book.
Ann Cannon: “Boys and Books” @ Whitmore Library, 2197 Fort Union Blvd., 801-943-4636, Jan. 6, 7 p.m., free. KingsEnglish.com
