Discusses several books that make the point that readers do and should read stories that are judged to be truly different from stories that are made up. Argues that the responsibility of reading teachers is to help young readers become thoughtfully engaged in their suspension of disbelief. (RS)

Muses over and responds to several "letters" regarding top 10 lists for reading teachers, political correctness, best sellers, and Howard Gardner on drill and discipline. (SR)

Presents a humorous treatment of trends in the literacy business: blaming somebody else and tackling complex problems as if they were easy. (SR)

Argues that reading teachers ought to pay as much attention to what students read as to how they read. Illustrates the state of children's publishing with the heavily revised and simplified Hardy Boys series and with sloppy books about dinosaurs. (RS)

Discusses comments about and responses to an article on semiotics by Donald J. Cunningham in the June 1992 issue of the "Educational Psychology Review." Discusses the semiotic method of juxtaposition, juxtaposing a menace being posed to reading teachers with the menace experienced in W. W. Jacobs' classic ghost story "The Monkey's Paw." (SR)

Claims that reading research and reading instruction have come no closer to each other than they ever were because the two sides have trouble communicating. Postulates that the work of teacher-researchers like Mary Heller might help link theory to practice. (SKC)

Discusses Roger Schank's book "Tell Me a Story," noting that understanding stories (their structure, acquisition, and retelling) is at the heart of understanding intelligence. Notes that the best reading teachers adapt their stories--rather than relying on rules--for the guidance they need to work with different students at different times. (SR)

Many state certification recommendations in reading education do not clearly define "certification." This produces a number of questions, among them the following: (1) Do reading teachers who are likely to teach reading at either the secondary or elementary level need a developmental course at both levels? (2) Should there be discrete courses in…

Presents a satirical view of the current literature on reading. Suggests that reading therapy inundates the student with theoretical constructs. (ARH)

Recounts a discussion concerning Jo Fraatz's "The Politics of Reading: Power, Opportunity, and Prospects for Change in American Schools" and Kathryn Anderson-Levitt's article "National Culture and Teaching Culture" in the March 1987 issue of "Anthropology and Education." (MM)