Sixth-grader Dion Diaz hangs out at the Natrona County Public Library, but he doesn't really like to read, preferring to look at pictures of famous wrestlers on the Internet.

Nic Bomgardner, who played Adventure Quest next to Dion in the computer room, said he likes to read, "sometimes." His mother, Sarah Bomgardner, said Nic will read on his own, but it more often requires pestering from her.

As literacy rates among elementary school boys continue to slump, Natrona County librarians are taking the matter into their own hands.

A new "No Girls Allowed" program encouraging boys to read and male mentors to help, will be launched Aug. 2 and the library will be open special hours just for boys.

Traditionally, third- to sixth-grade boys don't read as much as girls, said Kevin Kocur, reference librarian.

A boy is less likely to sit down with a book and enjoy the comforts of a fictional character's interpersonal relationships and much more likely to want to run outside and play. Kocur also said boys lack male mentors who read - particularly in front of boys or with them.

"Boys don't see male role models reading that much," Kocur said. "Their teachers are mainly women and librarians are mainly women."

Kocur said the purpose of "No Girls Allowed" is to encourage men to read with their sons, nephews or grandsons. If young boys associate their male mentors with reading and the men make reading seem "cool," boys may be more likely to read themselves.

His statements are backed by recent Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming Students statistics.

According to results from the standardized tests, third-grade boys in Natrona County scored 16 percent lower than girls in reading and seventh grade boys scored 45 percent lower, said Mike Flicek, director of assessment and research for the school district. He said the Wyoming results mirror Natrona County's.

"Boys really do perform lower in reading than girls as a group," Flicek said, explaining that there are on average 800 students in each grade level, giving the school district a fair assessment of the varying performance levels. "It is troubling there is a gender difference and says we could do better with boys."

There are solutions, Kocur said, and ways to convince boys they want to read.

Durk Brown and his 7-year-old son, Nicholas sat on children's chairs at the library recently, with dinosaur books and a National Geographic Kids magazine spread out in front of them.

Brown said he has always read with Nicholas because it seemed like a good idea.

Nicholas said he loves to read and Brown said one of the main reasons is because both Nicholas' mother and father read with him.

Nicholas is going through a dinosaur phase, Brown said, as his son ran through the children's section of the library looking for a book on his favorite dinosaur.

"He is teaching me about dinosaurs," Brown said, insisting his 7-year-old knows more about them than he does. "His love for them has gotten me into it."

Boys reading advocate Michael Sullivan of Portsmouth, N.H., who visited the Natrona County library in March, said father-son teams like the Browns are exactly what need to happen to improve literacy rates in young men. By the third grade, most boys are one and a half grade levels behind girls, making reading in school more of a chore than an enjoyable experience.

While the developmental gap has closed by 14 and a half years old, boys have already lost some of the vital reading skills imperative to academic success, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said national reading scores show the average 11th-grade boy reads three grade levels behind the average girl of the same age.

Emily King, the elementary curriculum coordinator for the Natrona County School District, said new research shows a difference in brain development between boys and girls.

Traditionally, in third grade teachers stop teaching reading skills and expect students to use reading to learn about other subjects.

This assumes the students have already developed the necessary tools for reading independently.

Because of the delay in brain growth in a particular area, boys still need to be taught reading skills and if they are not, reading can become difficult and uninteresting, King said.

What needs to be done to increase boys' interest in reading?

As a parent, keep at home books and magazines that would interest boys, such as Sports Illustrated Kids, said Holly Gilbert, a mother and reading coach for Willard Elementary School.

"In the schools and classroom I would try and do 50/50 books, ones the school provides and ones I buy on my own," she said. "I always keep a Goosebumps series and sports books so they have a chance to read things they want to read."

Reach Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or at christine.robinson@casperstartribune.net.