Reviews children's literature with multi-dimensional, engaging characters--characters with strengths and weaknesses who grapple with real problems and find real solutions. (MG)

Notes the ability to imagine is considered the gift of authors and illustrators whose books inspire readers. Highlights 38 works of children's literature that show how imagination can inform and excite both readers and characters. Concludes that through creative envisioning, poets, authors, and llustrators propel readers to relate the familiar to…

Presents brief descriptions of 36 children's books (published in 1999 and 2000), organized around the theme of the various ways readers respond to text and illustration. Presents the books in the following categories: questioning "who am I?"; interaction; interpreting the world; gaining insight; assuming responsibility; and taking action and…