This article considers three emergent themes from informal discussions with fourth and fifth graders about their book selections from the Vermont Children's Choice program. Twelve students were interviewed about how they selected books from the list. Student responses showed that they held the DCF nominee list in high regard, that they relied…

Academic tasks are listed on the board from which students choose their work. (JH)

This study involved fourth grade children as co-researchers of their engaged, aesthetic reading experience. As members of the "Readers as Researchers Club," they documented their engagement with text--how they create, enter, and sustain the story world. The children, who self-identified as avid readers, explored the activities central to their…

Recounts efforts by the author and others to shift reading instruction from dependence on basals to the use of trade books and a greater range of choice for students in selecting reading materials. (HTH)

A "Personalized Contract Book Program," modeled on the way that competent readers learn to read at home, provided a nonpressured environment that fostered students' reading development. (DD)