Notes that pupils need to have opportunities to select challenging reading materials and need chances to read on an individual basis as well as in group work situations. Notes that interest and purpose in reading are important. (RS)

Reprints a classic article published in this journal in 1970. Considers the interplay between interest, motivation, and self direction on the one hand, and the reading levels concept on the other hand. Warns that the concept of reading levels is often focused on errors, and that this tends to distort perceptions with regard to the primary goal of…

Suggests that educators need to accept that the young adult audience is unique and find a way to deal with it in order to create a literature from which teenagers can expect to gain a satisfying "sense of comradeship among equals." (SG)

Presents the results of the 1988 Books for Young Adults Poll. Includes the 31 most popular reading choices of Iowa and Illinois high school students. Provides brief summaries and publication information on books in the following categories: contemporary realism; historical fiction; science fiction; nonfiction; and adventure, mystery, suspense. (MM)

Surveys some recent fiction which reflects both the diverse interests and varying reading abilities of 11-18 year olds. Presents brief reviews of 26 novels touching on themes such as family, first love, social issues, adventure, fantasy, and thrillers. (RS)

Investigates children's reading interests, the extent to which their parents are aware of these interests, and the ability of parents and children to select books at appropriate reading levels. (RAE)

Reports on a study which examined students' attitudes toward reading basals as opposed to children's novels. Notes that children overwhelmingly preferred novels over the basal series. (MM)

Six readability formulas (Flesch, Kincaid-Flesch, Dale-Chall, Gunning-Fog, Raygor, and Fog) were used to evaluate 260 vocational textbooks. The formulas were effective in discriminating ease or difficulty. Human interest scores, but not writing style, were a strong factor in identifying accessible texts for special populations. (SK)

Finds that student perceptions of readability and interest levels in two upper-level college composition texts varied from the Flesch and the Fry readability and human interest formulas. (SR)

Finds no foundation for the fear teachers and parents have that "light reading" (comic books, magazines, and novels) will limit higher-level reading. Notes that the vast majority of doctoral students at a major southern California university responded affirmatively to light reading as youths. (RS)

Critiques an article by Richard F. West, Keith E. Stanovich, and H. R. Mitchell entitled "Reading in the Real World and Its Correlates," published in an earlier issue of this journal. Questions that article's outdated concepts of mind and mental processes and its inappropriate use of statistics. (HB)

Responds to Denny Taylor's critique in the same issue of an article by Richard F. West, Keith E. Stanovich, and H. R. Mitchell entitled "Reading in the Real World and Its Correlates," published in an earlier issue of "Reading Research Quarterly." (HB)

Compares how readers in Hungary and Finland approached selected novels. Finds that the reading of fiction plays different roles in the two societies; different styles are preferred; and readers approach the same book from a different perspective. (SR)

Annotates 29 fiction and nonfiction tradebooks chosen by middle, junior, and senior high school students' votes. (RS)

Offers 10 strategies to enhance reading skills through wildlife reference books and other literature. Lists 10 nonfiction and 33 fiction references as resources for initiating a positive relationship among children, wildlife, and reading. (MG)