Gross books attract teen readers

By L.E. Crowley
Town correspondent

Scituate students who may be worried about school summer reading requirements should relax and head to the town’s public library and seek out Sharon Colvin.

In Colvin's teen reading area, you won’t find the boring old stories that drive adolescents away from books. Instead, Colvin has stocked the non-fiction reading section with teen-tantalizing subjects like explosives, corpses, murder, and the realities of prison life.

“I have a lot of gross books with a lot of pictures. There’s one that has magnificent pictures of magnified body lice,” Colvin said. “That’s what teenagers want—gross and pictures,” she said.

The 32-year-old Colvin -- bubbly, quick-witted and with parts of her black hair dyed purple -- looks more like a high school student than a librarian. Maybe that’s why so many Scituate students ask her for help with studies and reading materials.

“I’ve got some stressed out sixth graders,” Colvin said. “There’s a lot of pressure on kids.”

Heading into summer vacation, students from third grade to seniors in high school have to meet school reading requirements, and the School Department has partnered with the library to help parents and students make selections.

Students in third to eight grades must read two books: one non-fiction and one fiction.

Colvin said most students in those grades are OK with fiction, and can find something that interests them. It’s the non-fiction that throws some because many have not read non-fiction outside classroom textbooks.
Also, the school department offers suggested fiction titles, but leaves the door wide open for non-fiction.

“They’re intimidated by it,” Colvin said. “There’s a lot of pressure to read the so-called ‘right’ book. They don’t realize how broad a category non-fiction is.''

School requirements for non-fiction only suggest each grade pick a subject that ties in with each grade’s future curriculum, such as astronomy, physics, plants, animals, biographies, geography, and other open-ended subjects.

To help students, Colvin has pulled out books about Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, explosives, forensics, zoology, bugs, mummified bodies, paranormal investigations, and other subjects that interest teens, but may seem non-traditional.

“They say to me, ‘I didn’t know that would count,’” Colvin said. “They certainly count and these books are fantastic. They’re true to life investigations and that’s what kids are interested in."
.
Parents or students who need help with summer reading can contact Colvin at scolvin@ocln.org.