An instructional strategy adapted the Big Book reading experience to the adolescent student to increase enthusiasm for reading, vocabulary development, and sound word attack and comprehension strategies. Criteria for choosing books to read aloud with teenagers include: (1) select well written books; (2) select books that reflect students' interests and experiences; (3) select books that reflect warmth, humor, and emotions that teens can identify with; (4) select books from a variety of categories of literature; and (5) allow students to help select books for reading aloud. A college professor "borrowed" an eighth-grade class in a laboratory school to pilot the shared reading program. The professor read aloud to the students for 15 to 20 minutes each day after lunch, tracking her finger along transparencies on an overhead projector. Strategies for learning new vocabulary words in context and reading strategies were modelled, and class discussion followed. Student comments indicated that little learning was taking place. Extensions that would strengthen the oral reading include writing in double entry diaries written during instructional reading time. The professor concluded that teenage reluctant readers would receive the most benefit from using the shared book experience. With the very capable readers in the pilot study, perhaps a book selection with which the majority of the class would experience difficulty might have captured their interest. (A figure listing criteria for selecting shared books for teens and a figure presenting a 14-item bibliography of books for shared reading are included.) (RS)