Discusses Jan Mark's "Thunder and Lightnings" and offers the teacher various approaches to teaching the book in the classroom. (HOD)

Examines the works of Diana Wynne Jones, which offers humor, adventure, and fantasy. (HOD)

Affirms that Carlo Collodi's writing of "Pinocchio" was a turning away from the didacticism of Italian children's literature to the use of comedy in children's books. (AEA)

Presents an interview with Dianne Monson, 1994 winner of the International Reading Association's Arbuthnot Award, a woman of many talents and enthusiasms, all of which are apparent in the way she approaches both teaching and children's books. Discusses her career as a reader, a critic, and a teacher of children's literature. (SG)

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…

Offers the author's (a noted writer of children's novels and picture books) personal theories about mixing mirth and mayhem. (SR)

Notes that children would learn much more from stories if they were allowed to relax, enjoy a story, and discover what it is they want or need from books. (HOD)

Recalls childhood reading experiences and offers an analysis of the "wit and genius" of "Pilot Officer Prune's Progress." (TB)

Crosby Bonsall, a prolific author-illustrator for young readers, comments on many topics related to writing, illustrating, and young children's initial independent encounters with print in books. (HOD)

Offers a stimulating discussion of fancy and reality in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." (HOD)

Reports on the 1987 Drexel University/Free Library of Philadelphia Conference on Children's Literature. The edited text of the keynote address by Alvin Schwartz, "Children, Humor and Folklore," and the acceptance speech by Deborah Kogan Ray, recipient of the 1987 Drexel Citation, are included. Observations on humor from workshop sessions are…

Examines the use of humor in books for children and adolescents as a device for discussing serious and painful topics. Passages from several books are used as examples, and a bibliography is provided. (CLB)

Describes six trends and five evaluative criteria of children's nonfiction books and suggests four additional criteria for activity books. Topics discussed include humor, unusual formats, graphics and illustrations, accuracy and authenticity, content and perspective, and organization. Specific titles appropriate for kindergarten through sixth…

This exploration of the two leading varieties of nonsense literature defines strict nonsense as that in which the laws of nature are suspended and replaced by new laws which the author decrees, and loose nonsense as usually comic writing about a singular unlikely event. Examples of these two types of verse in children's literature are cited. (22…

This article presents an interview with Jacqueline Wilson, a popular British author of children's books. Wilson has published 86 books for children and young adults with more than 20 million copies sold in the U.K. alone. Wilson's fans--mostly seven- to 14-year-old girls--love her gripping plots about dysfunctional families, homelessness, and…