This study suggests a criteria checklist for assessing the content components of nonfiction selections of adolescents. Based on the assumption that most of the nonfiction read by adolescents in the English class is anthologized, this study analyzes the content components of 12 leading anthologies recommended for the eighth grade in terms of their…

There has been a recent surge in the popularity of youth fantasy books; this can be partially attributed to the popularity of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Librarians and others who recommend books to youth are having a difficult time suggesting other fantasy books to those who have read the Harry Potter series and want to read other similar…

This study explored the themes in children's fiction with the subject of an alcoholic parent and evaluated the treatment of the subject in novels from the 1960s and the 1980s. It was hypothesized that, compared to writings from the 1960s, writings from the 1980s would more often contain references to the disease concept of alcoholism, would more…

Young adults read not only to experience real-life problems, but also to "escape" from those problems. The two most popular types of novels available to teens are the contemporary realistic problem novel and the formula romance novel. A study examined the incidence of specific adolescent developmental tasks (adolescent problems/concerns)…

Selected recent adolescent novels which center on a young adult's relationship with an older adult are analyzed. In these novels which feature older adults and young adults as main characters, the older character has qualities that the teenager examines, then accepts or rejects. In today's nuclear family, teenagers sometimes have very little…

The purpose of this study was to determine the social role of American women--their marital, maternal, and occupational status--as depicted in literature for intermediate grade children. The hypothesis of this study was that the sex stereotype of "kinder, kuche, kirche" was portrayed by the adult women characters found in the literature available…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine juvenile books on the theme of war. An attempt was made to analyze the characteristics of earlier works on World War II, and to compare and contrast recent publications treating current conflicts. While emphasis was on fictional material, many true-life accounts were also included. Chapter 1…

The purpose of this study was to come to a greater understanding of contemporary high fantasy for children by analyzing in depth the nature and functions of four key motifs of this sub-genre of fantasy. These motifs are created worlds, time displacement, quest, and combat between good and evil. The 47 books chosen for analysis were recommended in…

The study focused on the conflict between good and evil as it was portrayed in selected examples of fantasy and realistic fiction appropriate for children in the 8-to-12-year-old range. Newbery Award books from 1945 to 1972 and the Newbery Honor books from alternate years within the same period were analyzed. In addition, children's literature…

In a study designed to discover whether interest in reading materials influenced a student's comprehension, 47 seventh grade students, reading one to two grade levels below their grade placement, were assigned a self selected story of high interest and a story of low interest. The 12 short story selections were assembled on the basis of research…

A descriptive profile of adolescent response to literature is presented in this study, which also examines findings in terms of psychoanalytic concepts that relate response to life styles in terms of Piaget's genetic epistemology. There are two primary questions in this investigation: What is the psychological dynamic of response to literature? By…

The purpose of this study was to apply a schema to adolescent novels, to determine what lessons the authors teach and what techniques they employ in their teaching. A historical review of literary criticism established a background for interpreting the educational function of literature. A schema of questions based on the historical background was…

It was the purpose of this study to identify and to describe black developmental tasks as treated in 10 randomly-selected black junior novels and to measure the extent to which they were present in the novels. Nineteen judges rated books appearing on the judges' list of 32 black junior novels, published during the period 1962-72. From these…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether widely used eighth-grade literature anthologies contained sufficient selections of appropriate content to facilitate the integration of career education and literature study in the eighth-grade English program. Three aspects of the anthologized selections were analyzed: manifest work content,…

The purpose of this study was to examine children's choice state book award programs to determine their impact on the media collection and, ultimately, on what students were reading. Questionnaires were sent to 40 randomly selected schools in 5 states (Georgia, Ohio, Texas, California, and Vermont) with active (1991-1992) state book award…