Lowering the Bar

little parrothead 21 Lowering the BarHave you heard about nine-year old Alec Greven? HarperCollins Children’s Books is set to publish his book How to Talk to Girls this fall. This book is aimed at the elementary/middle school boy crowd that can’t quite figure out how to move, or make some moves, on their playground crushes. I presume that this is more than pick-up lines. I may be hoping for too much.

OK. Now, this is a crowd that I don’t think really needs more encouragement to pursue girls. It comes quite naturally.

I suppose this will make it into the Scholastic Book Club catalogs our kids bring home. Anything for a buck. It will probably end up in the curriculum, too, in many schools where they are trying to encourage boys to read more. It would probably work. Especially if it has pictures. Reluctant readers no more!

But this part of the article is the most amazing, the part that really caught my attention. It’s what I mean by “Lowering the Bar”. I hope it was meant as a joke, otherwise it qualifies for the Bonehead of the Year Award. Here it is:

When HarperCollins Children’s Books publishes Alec’s work, he’ll join the ranks of famous authors such as C.S. Lewis, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe.

That says it all.

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  4. Childrens Books for Valentines Day – Picture Books and Beginning Readers
  5. The Anti-Princess Reading List

One Response to “Lowering the Bar”

  1. Max Elliot Anderson Says:

    Hi,

    I grew up as a reluctant reader. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries, especially for boys 8 and up, that kids hate to put down. My web site is at http://www.maxbooks.9k.com and my Books for Boys blog is at http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
    Ranked by Accelerated Reader

    Thank you,

    Max Elliot Anderson

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