Dad Writes Book For Reluctant Readers

WESTPORT, Conn.-- Do you have kids who don’t like to read? Sure, they could read if they wanted to, but they usually choose not to. In fact, they’d rather do just about anything -- like getting their teeth cleaned -- than reading a book. Sound familiar?

Westporter Tommy Greenwald has written a children’s book --  “Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading” -- aimed at just this brand of reluctant reader.

Published last month by Roaring Books, an imprint of MacMillan, the book has received a “starred” review from Booklist, the influential reviewer of children’s books: “Charlie Joe speaks straight to other book-averse middle schoolers,” writes reviewer Hazel Rochman. “With its subversive humor and contemporary details drawn straight from kids’ worlds, this clever title should attract a wide following."

The story’s main character, Charlie Joe, has managed to get through school without ever reading a book cover to cover. But this is getting harder in middle school. Charlie Joe’s friendships are being tested as he devises complicated schemes to not read. 

The book is complete with anti-reading tips like: "Not all books are bad." Charlie Joe says he does like checkbooks, comic books and Facebook. He suggests that if you have to read, read books with short chapters, like this one. 

Greenwald says he hopes kids who don’t like to read will identify with Charlie Joe so much so that they’ll forget that they are actually reading. “I’m basically trying to pull a fast one over the kids,” says Greenwald. 

Greenwald is intimately familiar with “the book averse.” In fact, his three sons, Charlie, Joe and Jackson- now all high schoolers at Staples--inspired him to write the book. 

“They hated reading, with a single-minded, incredibly dedicated, almost admirable passion,” he said at a book talk at the Barnes and Noble in Westport last month. “I took away their cell phones. I took away their clothing. I locked them in their room and gave them the choice of reading or staring at the wall. They picked the wall."

As Greenwald researched books about reluctant readers, he found that most stories were about kids with learning disabilities. In many books, the main characters eventually turn into readers by the end but Greenwald says he wanted to write a story that was more realistic. 

“I’ve received emails thanking for me for not turning Charlie Joe into a reader,” he says.

“I wanted to be the one to crack the code. The one to turn the reluctant reader into not necessarily an avid reader, but into a kid who realizes that there are some books out there that could theoretically be entertaining."

“And I wanted to write a book for that parent who’s bought a zillion milkshakes for their kid,” he says about the bribing tactic that he used many times. 

Charlie Joe Jackson is Greenwald’s first book. Greenwald has also written musicals and screenplays with collaborators. He credits Metro North commuter trains for giving him the time to write. 

“I wrote almost the whole book on the train,” says Greenwald, who is creative director at Spots, a Broadway advertising agency in New York City. Last week, he had a reading at Books of Wonder, a famous children’s books store in Manhattan.   

With the help of friend and Westport literary agent Michelle Rubin, Greenwald landed a three-book contract for Charlie Joe Jackson. The next book, titled “Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit," is due out next year. 

 

Do you have a child like Charlie Joe Jackson? Have you ever bribed him or her to read?  

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