Starting with The Island<\/em><\/a> in 2017, followed by The Mountain<\/em><\/a> in 2021 and, this fall, The Village<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>best-selling author Max Brooks\u2019 middle grade Minecraft series puts the younger reader squarely in the universe of the wildly popular video game, played by some 163 million people around the world<\/a>. Not only does Brooks leverage a true fan\u2019s knowledge of the game, he\u2019s also a champion of what the game represents \u2014 a hero\u2019s path for the creator, <\/em>where \u201cwinning\u201d isn\u2019t so much about following the rules as it is about inventing your own future.<\/p>\n And he did it all for the kid he was at that age.<\/p>\n \u201cI start out from the point of view of the kid who didn\u2019t want to read, because that\u2019s who I was,\u201d says Brooks.<\/p>\n Brooks, who has dyslexia, did not read voluntarily until maybe 12 or 14 years old, when he picked up the obscure Marvel comic, Rom the Spaceknight.<\/em> \u201cI sat down and read the whole thing \u2014 the thick annual,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cAnd then it was like, Oh, I just read something<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n It was easy<\/em>, he realized, because he was interested <\/em>\u2014 and he\u2019s leveraged that personal knowledge ever since.<\/p>\n Brightly hopped on Zoom with Brooks to talk about the art of reaching reluctant readers, so that they, too, can reap the life lessons in books like his latest, The Village.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Did you set out to crack the code for reluctant readers with your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n My philosophy is you start with their interests, and find a book that fits.<\/p>\n And you are a Minecraft fan yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n The first time I played with my son, I thought, This is the most powerful potential teaching tool since the printing press<\/em>. And I\u2019m not being hyperbolic. It can wipe out the Prussian model of education that used to ruin outliers like me. That model of education is about standardization, regurgitation under the ticking clock.<\/p>\n In this era \u2014 and in a very broad view of this moment \u2014 kids are going to go back to becoming the entrepreneurs of the 19th century. They\u2019ll have to solve problems their<\/em> way. And Minecraft gives you that. You can fish, forage, hunt\u2026 however you want to do it. However, you want to grow your wheat or potatoes, you can. That brain training is going to help kids of the workforce of the 21st century.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a perfect model because the game is always changing.<\/p>\n What kind of books drew you in as a reluctant reader?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n First it was picture books \u2014 comic books. And then it was audiobooks. I grew up with my mother (the actor Anne Bancroft) reading to me every night. When she had to go do a movie, she always made sure I had audiobooks. She went to the Braille Center, because she had studied there when she played Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker<\/em>, and she knew them. She said, You read books for the blind. My son has horrible dyslexia, can you read for him?<\/em><\/p>\n Turns out I learned better through my ears and not my eyes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I put as much effort into the audiobook as I do when I write the book.<\/p>\n What about your Minecraft books do you think draws in reluctant readers?<\/strong><\/p>\n First of all, with a game like Minecraft, you\u2019ve got to do your homework. I would play hours and hours of the game. So much of the action is the randomness of game play.<\/p>\n I\u2019m coming from this idea that the writer is a tour guide for the reader. You have to know your stuff. And they need to know that I get it, that feeling of, Oh, that happened to me, too.<\/em><\/p>\n And then you have to have the right moments to infuse life lessons.<\/p>\n The first book is about how to live with yourself \u2014 patience and planning. The challenge was to find the moments when my character would learn how to recover from failure in the language of Minecraft.<\/p>\n In book two, he leaves the island. It\u2019s all about friendship, finding the beat where two characters talk to each other and communicate and compromise, and how to work together.<\/p>\n And in book three, it\u2019s the village. How do I teach kids the stuff they need to know for the times we\u2019re living in now \u2014 why democracy is important, why money matters, why wars happen, what you need to do to survive all the modern things kids are living through now?<\/p>\n What will new readers of your work get out of The Village<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n If they don\u2019t know me, they don\u2019t have to read The Island<\/em> and The Mountain<\/em> to read The Village<\/em>. I\u2018ve done enough throwback to get people up to speed. Once again, coming from the reluctant reader, I make a point of saying, in the beginning, if you haven’t read the other, I\u2019ll fill you.<\/p>\n What will longtime fans get out of The Village<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n They\u2019re getting the natural progression of this trilogy. It is the culmination of life lessons that Guy and Summer have learned separately and then together, the final step before they find what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n Are you <\/strong>sad to say goodbye?<\/strong><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t think I would get as emotional saying goodbye to them. But I\u2019m indelibly attached to the soundtrack. This trilogy has had a theme song: Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime.<\/em> It will be hard for me to listen to any Talking Heads song without thinking of Guy and Summer. I love these two characters, their journey and what they\u2019ve been finding along the way.<\/p>\n Part of the discipline of being a writer is to realize I\u2019ve said what I had to say<\/em>. In a way, it\u2019s like letting your kids go. As painful as it is.<\/p>\n I have a high school senior. If you do your job right, they will leave you \u2014 as they should.<\/p>\n Do you have any advice for parents who want to raise kids who love to read?<\/strong><\/p>\n When you\u2019re reaching for a book for a kid, it\u2019s not that hard if you get to know the kid. That\u2019s all it takes.<\/p>\n And what you and I know is that reading is a discipline. Even if you\u2019re good at it. It takes practice. I would say to a kid or a parent, it doesn\u2019t matter what they\u2019re reading. If you love Emily Bronte, read Bronte. If they love video games, get them reading the directions on the video games. Read, read, read, and develop those muscles \u2014 and they\u2019ll get there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n yes no Get the Books: 9780399181795 The Island<\/i> 9780593159170 The Mountain<\/i> 9780593159187 The Village<\/i> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brightly sat down with Brooks to talk about the art of reaching reluctant readers, so that they, too, can reap the life lessons in books like his latest Minecraft story, The Village<\/i>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":100891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[173,675,1204],"coauthors":[43],"class_list":["post-100865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-author-voices","tag-minecraft","tag-interview","ages_stages-tween"],"yoast_head":"\n