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Kids often brag about not having read a book “in years” and tease the ones who have.

For boys who aren't particularly athletic, the social price of being smart or loving books can be high.

Parents can help boys who like to read by normalizing attempts to hide it and teaching about social pressure.

I grew up in the 1960s and '70s when reading was popular. People carried their paperback books on them all the time and shared titles with pride. I was rarely without a book; my walks to and from elementary school were spent reading Nancy Drew, while keeping an eye out for rogue dips and cracks in the sidewalk.

It’s different today. Kids brag about not having read a book “in years” and tease the ones who have. Attempts to impress upon them the value or pleasures of reading draw mockery. Of course it would; people don’t miss something they never knew.

I’m sitting with my 10-year-old therapy client, a shy and anxious boy whose disdain for sports and love of reading made him the perfect target for elementary school teasing.

“I know some boys who hide their books when they bring them to school,” I said, suspecting that he did this himself.

“That’s what I do!” he exclaimed, confirming my suspicions. “I hide my reading books in my book bag so no one........

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