You know, I know that there are exceptions (and I've read about them with interest on this list), but I've really started to wonder if the reading behavior of the typical bright boy just differs from the reading behavior of a bright girl. I recently had a discussion with a mom of a boy a couple of years older, who has a son in the G&T program at school. She remarked that before he was "identified" in 3rd grade, her son seldom read, and had perhaps never finished a chapter book on his own. I was VERY surprised. For what it is worth, boys seem to be "identified" at a rate of 3 for every 1 girl in DD's school, too. It did start me thinking, though - is it common for bright boys to just have very different reading behavior than bright girls (and I do realize that "bookworm" boys exist, too)?
DD is a bookworm. It is probably not fair for me to compare DS to her (but I do, and then I worry). My DH is VERY bright, but I don't think HE was ever a bookworm. I've started to relax a bit with DS's NOT being exactly like his sister in his reading behavior because I think I've started to believe that at least some bright boys (maybe many) DO have different reading habits than a book-loving bright girl. Still, I do try to sneak in those "high interest" books that might get him reading and it sometimes works...
