Last year, I tutored a fourth grader. My task was to improve his reading comprehension. A few times each week, we would meet inside the public library and select a couple of books to read. Then we would spend the next hour reading and discussing the book.
My student’s favorite reading material was the “Dog Man” series by Dav Pilkey. Being an adult with no children, I had never heard of this character or the series of books. My student loved these books so much that he knew all of the characters as well as all of the plots. He owned all of the books in the series and eagerly awaited the upcoming arrival of the next installment.
I ran into problems because the only time that my student was excited about reading was when he was reading the “Dog Man” adventures. Of course, I insisted that he read a cross section of books by various authors. There is a vast number of children’s books to choose from as opposed to sticking with one author and one genre. I finally reached a compromise with my student. We would read and discuss Dog Man for one session each week.
There is nothing wrong with having a favorite genre and author. Most readers have a favorite type of book and author. However, if your goal is to improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension to pass the ASVAB exam it is extremely important to vary the types of materials that you read. Remember, read to become informed, to become educated, to become inspired, and for enjoyment.