AbstractFive basal readers and ten contemporary adolescent novels appropriate for 6th grade readability were analyzed for the occurrence of three types of language styles or registers: formal, informal, technical‐special. Results indicated that the basal readers contained examples of all three types of register while the novels contained relatively few examples of technical‐special language. Overall, a much greater amount of informal language was found in the novels. The results were discussed in terms of implications for teachers and instruction.