Specialists in the field of children's literature, who publish research and decide on awards for individual books, should give serious study to what children themselves choose to read. Among the children's books that were not originally awarded top honors by critics but that have proved extremely popular with children are the Oz books by L. Frank…

This paper examines the conspiracy drama which characterizes the rhetoric generated by the John Birch Society. According to the Society, "innocent" America is under direct threat from some organized external and internal force that is seeking its destruction. Members are called to react in a carefully outlined manner: (1) piece together…

This book emerged from a Poetry in the Schools program which had two facets: teacher workshops and instruction by poets in elementary and secondary classrooms. Part one, "Poets and Teachers in Dialogue," describes major issues discussed in teacher workshops: keeping the imagination alive, writing as a way of discovery, exploration of…

This collection provides an inside view of the world of books, writers, and writing. The 33 separate contributions include excerpts from James Dickey's personal log that provide insights into the process of writing a novel; excerpts from the diary of John Shaw Billings, the first managing editor of "Life," that describe the launching of that…

This paper discusses changing attitudes in rhetorical theory, contrasting classical rhetoric's emphasis on an orator's social powers and responsibilities with current emphasis in composition textbooks on individual creativity and self-expression. The paper suggests that the implications of both attitudes should be considered when teaching…

This is a review of films in six thematic groupings: (1) The Open Classroom on Film, (2) The Developing Child, (3) Readiness and the Natural Abilities of Children, (4) Schools as Mirrors, (5) Families: Weavers of Civilization, (6) Children: The Legacy. Each review describes strengths and weaknesses, and gives guidance for follow-up usage. All…

Concept learning and synectic strategies must be incorporated into the language arts curriculum to ensure concept development. (JH)

The concepts of distance, modalization, comprehensibility, and tension, as used for discourse analysis, can be applied to the analysis of speech events in literary texts. Such a linguistic approach may lead to new insights for the psychological description of authors and/or literary characters. Available from Dept. of English, University of…

The treatment of ethnic minorities in Russian history survey textbooks is examined. (DE)