Discusses 24 picture and chapter books (published in 1991 or 1992) that feature strong or interesting male and female characters. Notes that all have the potential to spark readers to think about what it means to them to be a boy or girl (or a man or a woman) in a particular culture. (RS)

In John Ehle's "The Winter People," the goddess Persephone is with Hades, and winter is upon the Appalachians in full force. Ehle's novel begins as Wayland Jackson and his daughter, Paula, arrive at the home of Collie Wright and her baby, Jonathan. The Jacksons' truck has broken down on their way from Pennsylvania to Tennessee following…

Reviews "Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School" (Barrie Thorne), which, using ethnological methods, analyzes children's gender differences in playground and classroom behavior. (ME)

Inability to hear or understand the male voice of intimacy creates difficulty in relationships. Listening to relational dialogues of intimacy based on feminine relational strengths may preclude understanding or hearing males voices. Reviews special issue of the "Journal of Mental Health Counseling" on counseling men, concluding with several…

This special issue brings together an editorial, six articles, and three book reviews that focus on the relationship between television and the female audience. The articles are: (1) "Installing the Television Set: Popular Discourses on Television and Domestic Space, 1948-1955" (Lynn Spigel); (2) "The Spectacularization of Everyday Life: Recycling…

Reviews the work of Penina Muhando, a Tanzanian playwright whose plays are available only in Kiswahili. Synopsizes nine plays and analyzes the use and development of sex and gender roles in her characters to illustrate the problems of sexual and political oppression. (FMW)

Examines the female principles of love, care, patience, and healing that are embodied in the symbolism of Ayi Kwei Armah's novel, "The Healers." Compares and contrasts the roles of male and female characters emphasizing the role of women in molding the course of human history. (FMW)

Reviews "Sylvia? The Biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner," by L. Hood. Uses a feminist approach to examine the life of the New Zealand teacher whose teaching methods with Maori children led to international acclaim and imitation. Discusses the dynamics between pedagogy and personality. Contains 40 references. (Author/SV)

Reviews reasons educational practice is less influenced by curriculum theories than in the past and responds to the criticism by William Wraga that theory and practice have split. Notes the gendered nature of the relationship between theory and practice in curriculum, in that more theorists are male and more practitioners are female. (SLD)

Reviews eight European histories by Dorothy O. Helly, Ed., and Susan M. Reverby, Ed. (1992); Joy Wiltenburg (1992); Margaret L. King (1991); Joan DeJean (1991); Jacques Gelis (1991); Barbara Duden (1991); Jane Lewis (1991); and Sheila Rowbotham (1989). This sampling shows women's historians use an interdisciplinary approach and consistently deal…

Presents a critical review of "The Oregon Trail" CD-ROMs. Argues that "The Oregon Trail" is sexist, racist, culturally insensitive, and contemptuous of the earth, imparting bad values and wrong history. Suggests questions teachers can ask before choosing to use these materials, and offers classroom activities to develop students' critical computer…

Discusses eight novels by the following female novelists from Africa: (1) Buchi Emecheta; (2) Flora Nwapa; (3) Bessie Head; and (4) Mariama Ba. Explores customs and attitudes that cause the most suffering to their female characters. Examines signs of change which suggest hope for the elimination of these causes. (JS)

Explores Afra-Hispanic literature, the writing of black Spanish-speaking women of the Caribbean and Central and South America. The literary texts of Afra-Hispanic women reveal an emerging feminist consciousness. A more detailed analysis is given of the poetry of Virginia Brindis de Salas and Aida Cartagena Portalatin. (SLD)

Explores the view of motherhood and the concept of mother love as a killer in Toni Morrison's novels "Sula" (1973) and "Beloved" (1987). The triple nature of mother love as destructive materially, emotionally, and literally is examined in the context of African-American women's struggles. (SLD)

Analyzed are 21 environmental stories published for children by national and regional environmental organizations. Findings indicate that, although these stories are in compliance with suggested environmental attitudes for children, they also conform to conventional sex role behavior in Arab States. (Author/CW)