A recent study on the free selection of library books for recreational silent reading periods focused on the difficulty of material chosen and on the relationship between the students' reading ability and the readability of a book. Three groups of 24 students completed an interest inventory form, and their reading ability, sex, and reading…

The study investigated reading attitudes and interests of 30 fourth through ninth grade gifted and talented students. The data were gathered through the use of a questionnaire, which included statements with Likert type scale responses, multiple-choice, and short answers. Methods used to analyze the data were individual item analysis, analysis of…

Explores whether innercity children in the intermediate grades expressed a greater preference for reading stories and books which depicted innercity settings or pleasant middle-class settings. (RB)

Contends that many supposedly factual nature stories either present animals in situations where they would not ordinarily be found or with phenomenal powers of reasoning and Christian ethics. (TO)

Discusses the current controversy about too much realism in children's literature and concludes, by citing several examples of recent children's and adolescents' books, that literary quality together with realistic plots and characters makes good books. (TO)

Pays tribute to comic books as sources of real enjoyment for children. (TO)

James Britton's model of the uses of language is discussed as a way to focus and organize studies of response to literature. After the model has been explicated, specific studies are discussed in relation to a number of research areas: early forms of literary experience, the child's developing "sense of story," the child's awareness that…

One year after they had participated in the validation of the Estes Reading Attitude Scale, 75 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders were asked to respond to and comment on the questions in an interview situation. Thirty-six of these students had scored low on the attitude inventory but high on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills; 39 had scored high on the…

Describes a reading policy designed for a British comprehensive school, and suggests some of the approaches that can be adopted to develop the reading habits of students before they leave school. (RB)

Evaluates the reading habits and interests of delinquent adolescents in a Georgia youth offender center. (RB)

Reprint form "This Book Belongs To Me, a report of the Washington pilot program of "Reading is Fundamental.

Data from 149 female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) were used to construct a composite of the reading habits and their relation to other characterisitics of this group. The typical respondent was a married woman between 26 and 40 years old who had attended college but remained at home to care for children under…

This report presents results of analyses of factors affecting reading achievement of 14,318 pupils in 34 elementary schools in Washington, D.C., as measured by the percentage of objectives mastered on the Prescriptive Reading Test and students' interest in reading for the school year 1977-78. It also presents descriptive information about…

A questionnaire was completed by 110 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 in a study conducted to determine the primary reason why adults read. The results showed that informational reading was the main purpose for adult reading, but did not indicate a relationship between purpose for reading and socioeconomic status and educational level.…

A study was conducted to establish whether optimum editorial mixes (mixes of items selected from content categories determined from factor analysis) can be determined by publications editors in attempting to provide wide audience appeal with a minimum number of stories. A questionnaire was designed to determine employee opinions of the Tennessee…