This article discusses how reading for their own purposes affected struggling teens. It shares the authors' story, which demonstrates the importance and power of focusing on students' purposes, as highlighted in Standard 12, a standard not often addressed or assessed, but one that matters to students and teachers alike. The authors describe how a…

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" is filled with objectives that are mostly unobjectionable--and that would have been just as applicable in the twentieth century. Who, after all, would oppose the idea of "organizing knowledge so it's useful"? Who's going to deny the value of effective…

Educators know that an achievement gap exists between students of low-income and middle-income families, a gap that is especially evident in fourth grade and beyond. This essay explores issues related to this gap, including primary-level children being immersed in narrative text and, therefore, unprepared for the challenges of informational text…

An author of young adult literature discusses the methods he uses to "research" his books. (FL)

Relates how the series adventure story retains its hold over young readers and concludes its qualities may be both misunderstood and undervalued. (HOD)

Theodore White's theory of reading is based on the belief that citizens reading newsmagazines form opinions and exert pressure for action on government. (DD)

Examines the reasons why so many people have preconceptions about how much "truth" is in fiction. Notes the effects of believing that authors base their fiction primarily on personal, "true-to-life" experiences. (RL)

Suggests that "Johnny Can Read" the popular magazines that Johnny wants to read, and encourages teachers to consider making such magazines a part of the reading program. (DD)

Presents the concept of bibliotherapy and discusses the value of books--particularly modern fiction and poetry--for helping individuals to cope with death and other personal crises. Several specific titles are recommended for adults. (MES)

Suggests that, in the rush to make programs literature-based and to privilege the child's book choices, reading teachers have undervalued both the contribution of easy-to-read books and the expertise of teachers who would judiciously suggest books for children to help move their literacy development along. (RS)

Refutes the myth that young adults won't read about protagonists younger than themselves. Describes novels from which adolescents can benefit that contain candid treatment of the loss of innocence, the search for home, and the complexities of independence, love, and self-knowledge. (EL)

Discusses juvenile family novels, such as Betty Waterton's "Quincy Rumpel," Sue Ann Alderson's "The Not Impossible Summer," and Jean Little's "Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird." (EL)

Annotates one nature book, two novels, and one biography written for adults but of interest to young adult readers. (FL)

Examines how the accounts of the lives of intrepid missionaries were offered as inspiration to young readers into the early twentieth century. (HOD)

Reviews research findings that suggest that literacy is nearly universal and that interest in reading is at an all-time high in the United States. (FL)