Argues that although textbooks emphasize the importance of attention-getting introductions, such devices are hard to explain and hard for students to recognize. Observes that such an emphasis may suggest to students a vastly oversimplified view of the reading process. (HOD)

Describes a case study that explored the responses of four elementary school students actively involved in a literature-based reading program and how the teacher handled each child. (FL)

Describes a replication of a study to determine what international writers and evaluators bring to their respective tasks in an effort to devise an international scoring scheme. A satisfactory list of rating criteria was developed, although the criteria were value-laden and thus embedded in a cultural context. (HTH)

Examines coherence between sentences in a paragraph, arguing that readers require coherence at this level as well as between paragraphs. Discusses continuative and discontinuative relationships between sentences, including (1) sequence, (2) exemplification, (3) addition, (4) replacement, (5) contrast, and (6) alternation. (HTH)

Argues that the reader's active transformation and recreation of the text and both the content and function are best understood within the context of the personal style or identity the reader is shaping. (HOD)

Reports on a study that examined the relationship between age and depth of response to poetry. (HOD)

Relates a literature class's analysis of a work. Notes student discovery that meaning in a fantasy work resided in a matrix of the author's structuring of the text, the reader's re-creation of that structure internally, and the subsequent development of agreed upon meaning within the group. (MM)

Argues that paragraph form congruent with the patterns and habits of thinking develops from the writer's sensitivity to the impact of visual images on the reader's mind. (MM)

Describes a survey of seventh grade students' reading attitudes. Presents interviews with three of the surveyed students in which they each describe a book they have read and their response to its special meaning. (HTH)

This paper examines the influence of Japanese comic illustrations on children's books in countries in East Asia. It has become increasingly obvious that recent children's books in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, as well as China and Malaysia/Indonesia contain illustrations with some features of the Japanese comic illustrations. This…

When adults share picture books with young children, they build their lifelong literacy and enjoyment of reading. In beautiful full color, the new edition of this popular book will help recognize quality in children's literature and illustration and see how to use picture books to best advantage. Following an introduction, this book is organized…

Reading has been perceived as a dynamic transactional process wherein readers negotiate meaning with writers by virtue of their prior knowledge. The act of meaning construction is realized primarily through the exploration of intertextual links that connect various sources of texts the readers have composed or experienced. Readers utilize…

The author praises Louis Gerstner and The Teaching Commission whose report, "Teaching at Risk: A Call to Action," emphasizes that much more needs to be done to improve teacher quality in public schools. However, the author notes several shortcomings in the report. The author notes that the report relied on faulty data and ignored promising…

In their anthology, Guth and Rico cite as preface to Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," a student paper saying: "The mere doubt of the existence of good and the thought that other human beings are evil can become such a corrosive force that it can eat out the life of the heart." This is what happens to Brown. In the…

This collection of essays offers diverse perspectives on what it means to be a male or female child in children's literature, presenting stimulating views from the field's best-known authors, illustrators, and educators. Among the authors and illustrators in the collection who talk about the creative process are: Jerry Pinckney, Katherine…