My next book purchase:  Why Boys Fail, by Richard Whitmire.

Whitmire discusses the idea that we have spent that last twenty years trying to get boys to adopt literacy skills before they are ready. 

Whitmire discusses the premise of the book here.

Anecdotally, our girls preferred to read early on instead of being read to; the boys all preferred being read to.

I'll keep you posted.

While we are on the subject, Eric Hanushek's latest book, Schoolhouses, Courthouses and Statehouses, is worth a look, given the funding climate that schools will likely face very soon.