Easy Readers – a Question about Democracy

Abstract

Easy reading novels for young people have increased rapidly during the last years. Authors, publishers, librarians and teachers regard the novels a tool for teaching, and the books are advocated to offer children and teenagers that are considered demotivated and poor readers suitable texts. The democratic argument is vital for the text type is, i.e. that everyone has the right to have access to literary texts. From a critical literacy perspective, the aim of this article is to highlight and discuss aspects of democracy in Swedish classrooms. The empirical material consists of 18 interviews with authors and publishers and text analysis of 17 novels with material for students and teachers. The article shows that authors and publishers use the democratic argument heavily when advocating for the text type. The novels show a gender stereotype pattern and the instructions encourage an efferent reading. The article argues that it is important to have a critical perspective if using the easy readers in the classroom.