In the early 1980s, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) revised its policies on reading instruction. A new transactional definition of reading shifted the emphasis from discrete reading skills to comprehension and set out objectives consistent with that new definition. Policymakers also revised the state?s reading-evaluation instruments,…

Innovative librarians, teachers, and parents have for years been using picture books with students in grades four and above, including high school and college students. Recent research suggests that many students comprehend better when they are reading meaningful text, with meaningful characters and themes. Picture books are: useful for teaching…