Automated text complexity measurement tools (also called readability metrics) have been proposed as a way to help teachers, textbook publishers, and assessment developers select texts that are closely aligned with the new, more demanding text complexity expectations specified in the Common Core State Standards. This article examines a critical…

There has been lots of quality young adult (YA) literature that addresses queer identity and has the potential for curriculum integration, bibliotherapy, and overall reading pleasure. However, unlike multicultural literature, there are no tools or a set of criteria that can help guide educators through the process of selecting the best of the YA…

Graphic novels are an important literary mode with a complex history and practice, and provide struggling readers of all kinds with a visual (but equally rigorous) reading experience. English teachers must determine the criteria for quality examples of this mode to provide the highest quality texts possible to every student. This article uses…

This study examined the impact of independent practice of multiple-criteria text that targeted high-frequency words, decodability, and meaningfulness. Second-grade students, including at-risk students, were randomly assigned within classroom to a treatment group that read multiple-criteria text ("n" = 34), or contrast group that read…

Previous research has demonstrated that African American children do not always relate to the literature available in their classrooms. The study examined fifth-grade students' responses to African American literature to determine the criteria students use to select books. Students' selection criteria were then compared with teachers' selection…

Selection of adult books for teen-age readers should be based on three pertinent factors: (1) interests, ideals, and aspirations of adolescents, (2) acquaintance with the best books of the past and present; and (3) availability of adequate funds. Literature on early book lists generally failed to appeal to young readers. Today, many current and…

Today's emphasis on using children's literature as a tool to teach reading and writing sub-skills distracts teachers' attention from looking to children's books for their historical role in helping children navigate the intellectual, social, and emotional terrains of childhood. This article argues, first, that early childhood educators must remain…

Purposefully selected collections of literature can extend, contrast or illuminate an experience or perspective to effectively exploit the potential of children's literature to shape curriculum and engage student learning. This paper offers a practical framework for creating purposeful collections of literature. As an illustration of this process,…

Explains the educational value of picture books, what constitutes a picture book, what to look for in picture books, and how to select them for the classroom or school library. Gives advice on how small rural school libraries can get more books. Appendices describe 38 selection aids for children's literature and 10 children's book awards.…

The purpose of writing is to communicate with an audience. Teachers need to move heaven and earth to be sure that every child knows what it is to become a published author. Criteria for selecting a piece is important. In this article, the author explores why the criteria that children use for selecting poetry to share with an audience differ from…

Individualized reading is the attempted match between the competence of the reader and the readability level of the text. This booklet, to be used as a guideline for selecting the appropriate books for each child, contains a detailed discussion of individualized reading, an explanation of individualized reading stages, criteria for selecting…

In an attempt to identify criteria used by readers to select science news, a homogeneous group of women in the Philadelphia area was asked to indicate which of 48 science-news statements they would be interested in reading in their newspapers. The statements were condensed from stories selected from Philadelphia newspapers over a…

The use of linguistic principles in selecting reading materials is relatively recent. Several years ago at Wayne State University, over 200 principles were identified as possible criteria for the selection of materials. About 50 of these were linguistic principles, some of which conflicted with the others. Descriptive linguistics seems, at…