Almost all the books on the above lists are fiction storybooks. Children like fiction, but they also like non-fiction. We know that boys, in particular, are interested in non-fiction. So why is it interesting, therefore, that so many fiction books are chosen and so few non-fiction books.? Is it something to do with the reading preferences of school teachers and librarians, who might tend to encourage pupils to read fiction but not non-fiction? This is likely to result in higher performance by girls, who are known to favour fiction. Is this a gendered preference so that the predominantly female primary school teachers and half of the secondary school teachers who are female prefer fiction and are unconsciously promoting fiction at the expense of non-fiction, thereby disadvantaging boys? A contentious point. Of course, Accelerated Reader is neutral on this matter, as it offers quizzes on a great many non-fiction books, but further research may be required to explore this point.
Year 3
Claire Llewellyn had three books and Chloe Rhodes two, very similar to last year, but all other books had different authors. The authors were generally very different to last year, except for these two. Half of the books were nature books (Table 28). ATOS was 2.7 (UK 3.7), as last year, indicating these pupils were reading books almost a year above their chronological age. The average APC was 0.88 (as last year).
Year 4
Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara had six books, a big increase from last year. Otherwise, all authors were different. There was little sense of book titles being likely to be favoured by boys or girls (Table 29). The previous emphasis on nature had largely disappeared. ATOS difficulty was 3.9 (UK 4.9), a big increase from the previous year, indicating that the difficulty of these books was a year above the pupils’ natural average reading ability. Despite this, the average APC was 0.89, virtually the same as the previous year.
Year 5
This list was dominated by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, who had 12 books (ten last year). However, the top position was held by Lisbeth Kaiser. Simon Mugford also had three books (see Table 30). Average ATOS increased again (from 4.4 to 4.7) (UK 5.7), so these pupils were reading books more than six months above their chronological age. At the same time, the average APC stayed much the same at 0.90. There seemed to be little correlation between difficulty and APC – some very difficult books were read with accuracy, and vice versa.
Year 6
The list was even more dominated by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, who had 14 books, much more even than last year, including the top two books. Simon Mugford and Matt Oldfield had two books each. Some emphasis on football was evident, and nature and science books had been largely displaced by biographies (especially Vergara’s work) (see Table 31). ATOS stayed much the same at 4.9 (UK equivalent 5.9). Thus, pupils were reading at their age level. The average APC was 0.91 (much the same as last year).
Year 7
Year 7 is the first secondary year (except in Scotland).
Marcus Rashford’s You Are a Champion: How to Be the Best You Can Be was on top, displacing Roald Dahl’s Boy to third. Fourteen of the books were about football, just as last year. Eight of these were by Matt Oldfield (as last year). Three were by Raina Telgemeier, and three by Simon Mugford. Of course, we cannot assume that all readers of these books are boys, as women’s football has gained considerable prominence in recent years (see Table 32). The average ATOS was 4.8 (UK 5.8) (much as last year) – indicating pupils were reading slightly more than one year below their natural ability. APC was 0.81 (exactly as last year, and this average is below the 85% criterion). This year, 15 books were below the 85% criterion, much like last year. These are not encouraging results when these books are so easy for the pupils.
Year 8
Matt Oldfield headed this list and has seven books in total. Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara had three books, and Simon Mugford also had three. There is a torrent of football books – 16 in all. This football orientation is much the same as last year (see Table 33). However, there were occasional signs of broader inclinations in Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography. ATOS was 5.2 (UK 6.2) (slightly down from last year). Thus, these pupils were reading at a year and a half behind their chronological age. Average APC was at 0.81 (slightly higher than last year, and just as far below the 85% criterion). This year 16 books fell below the 85% criterion, better than last year.
Year 9
As for Year 8, football again dominated – Matt Oldfield had seven books (including the top book). Jonny Zucker had three, Simon Mugford and Tom Oldfield two each. Seventeen books were about football (much as last year). Again, we have to ask if this reflects male preference or not (see table 34). The average ATOS was 5.2 (UK 6.2), just as last year. These pupils were reading at almost three years below their ability. The average APC was 0.80, just as last year, so the quality of comprehension, even on these easy books, had declined. Seventeen books were below the 85% criterion, much as last year.