The Link Homeschool News Network: Academic Superstore Review

Orca Book Publishers

http://www.orcabook.com

Transforming Reluctant Readers into Ravenous Readers

by Linda Pliagas

Some young adults may need a little bit of motivation for them to pick up a book. Preconceived notions or one bad reading experience may turn a child off for years from the joy of reading.
But parents take note: it’s never too late for your older child to rediscover books. Teens who were not naturally strong child readers can still play catch-up. Older readers are now opening up books and getting lost in the fantasy of fiction thanks to series fiction from Orca Book Publishers. Popular series include Orca Soundings, teen novels for reluctant readers; Orca Currents, a series of novels for middle-school readers; and Orca Sports, mystery-themed sports novels for readers aged 10 and up (www.orcabook.com).

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The company, in business for 25 years, publishes numerous award-winning books, from colorful illustrated picturebooks through teen novels. What differentiates their reluctant reader series is the fact that these short novels feature action-packed stories, with convincing themes that capture the interest of even the most critical of teens.
            The books, written by best-selling authors, are not condescending, instead they lure infrequent readers into a world of believable characters who are in the midst of dramatic situations, which provide a nice escape from a teen’s daily routine.
            Editor Andrew Wooldridge says one of the reasons Orca Soundings, the teen reluctant reader series, has been so successful is because “they are written for a lower-reading level so that they are not intimidating and because they are written by established authors.” He adds: “The topics are those that kids can relate to.”
          Orca Book Publishers did not just stumble onto this neglected market, their history of being a leader in the field of children’s and young adult titles helped them pinpoint a need in the industry: “We discovered that there was a large market of kids who do not read well,” Wooldridge says.
Another reason why the series has been so successful in transforming reluctant readers into ravenous readers is because when skeptical teens pick up the books “they feel like they are not reading beneath them.”
            Realistic settings, action-packed themes and sensational characters help make Orca Soundings easy to pick up and hard to put down.
            Titan Clash is a suspenseful example of a mystery-filled book in the Orca Sports reluctant reader series. The main character, Jack Spenser, uncovers suspicious circumstances surrounding a car crash that left his mother injured and his father’s arrest for fraud.   Jack, the star player of his basketball team, is also dealing with the stress of possibly being kicked off the team. His life is turned upside down by circumstances that are beyond his control and leave him on the verge of losing his star status as a school jock.
            Titan Clash written by Sigmund Brouwer, is a mystery-filled story that is a perfect choice to entice a young adult to open a book.
            Pleasing teenagers is never easy and the compelling books created by Orca Book Publishers in the Orca Soundings, Orca Currents and Orca Sports series are not only filling a void in the market, but are also changing lives by improving reading fluency.
Happy parents contact Orca Book Publishers regularly to express their gratitude. “We keep hearing about all the kids who would never read books and how now they are reading more and more,” Wooldridge says. Many of the books are also selected by the American Library Association for their annual Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.

Teachers’ guides and readers’ quizzes are also available, for more information, please log on to: http://www.orcabook.com or call 1-800-210-5277.