This article offers a way to show students how authors play a significant role in shaping nonfiction information to achieve clarity and coherence.

This article describes how selected nonfiction science books can be read as mystery stories featuring people confronting problems, gathering evidence, tossing aside preconceived ideas when necessary, and finding solutions.

In this article, the authors consider whether children's trade books promote an authentic understanding of the nature of science. They begin by discussing the characteristics of the nature of science and then examine existing research in children's science books for evidence of the visibility of these features. They describe the problems…

In this article I argue that history books that are "good to think with" narrate history and, at the same time, provide insight into how it is constructed. These books are much more than collections of facts. Specifically, they provide information about historical context, multiple perspectives, sources of information, and original interpretation.…

In this article, the authors explain how nonfiction literature can demonstrate the nature of problem solving within disciplines such as math, science, and social studies. This literature illustrates what it means to puzzle over problems, to apply disciplinary thinking, and to develop creative solutions. The authors look closely at three examples…

Literature provides abundant examples of how to apply the wisdom of the past to today's problems. But literary examples are not enough. If children are to take an active part in questioning the past, they need to understand how to read history the way historians and even amateur historians do. In this article, the author provides examples of how…

Discusses 10 books as resources for teachers and educators--books that focus on the creative processes of authors and illustrators (providing insights into literature), and books that offer readers a behind-the-scenes look at how some well-loved books originated. (SR)

Discusses 7 books for educators that report successful practices in the teaching of reading within a literature-based curriculum. Notes that these professional resources show what teachers are doing in their classrooms to make literature a vital part of children's lives, based on the power of literature as an artistic form and its potential to…

By highlighting the dreadful and avoiding the droll, nonfiction presents an unbalanced picture of the world and deprives readers of the benefits humor could contribute. Humor is needed in literature because it ventilates or disrupts oppressive conditions, it provides a different lens from which to view reality, and it provides hope, pleasure, and…

Discusses six books written for professional educators, discussing them in two groups; those that tell educators about a particular type of children's literature, and books that show how to engage children in literature study. (SR)

Discusses five books that deal with selecting and sharing books with children, books which are useful to parents, teachers, media specialists, and librarians. Addresses: nonfiction, young adult literature, using folktales with young adults, choosing books for children, selecting books for elementary school libraries, and choosing books for…

Discusses six books for teachers and educators that deal with the storymaking techniques of established authors and illustrators. Addresses new developments in children's books. (SR)

Discusses six books for teachers and educators that consider what makes reading attractive and even irresistible. Notes the books deal with author studies and elementary school students, broadening student response (to reading) to include art and music, a project approach to the classics, using computers to teach literature, effective school media…

Discusses six books intended to support educators who are looking for ways to make poetry a part of children's lives. Examines four books which offer numerous successful examples of reading and writing poetry in classrooms, and then looks at two books that offer poets' perspectives on reading, writing, and teaching poetry. (SR)

Discusses six specialized bibliographies that can help teachers and librarians find literature that supports on-going inquiries or that feeds children's interest in the newest hot topic. Includes specialized bibliographies on Native American Literature; math books; children's literature in social studies (teaching to the standards); children's…