Shows the need for teachers to acknowledge to themselves the extent of self censorship in their reviewing and purchasing decisions. Discusses teachers' and students' responses to the novel "I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This." Offers strategies that encourage and support the use of Social Issues Realism, and strategies that support a…

Offers an interview with poet X. J. Kennedy, winner of the prestigious National Council of Teachers of English Award for Poetry for Children for the year 2000. Outlines how he began writing poetry, his work writing poetry for adults, and how he began writing poems for children. Offers an overview of his work. (SR)

Discusses distinctive children's picture books that depict Asian fathers and other men who play significant roles in the lives of children. Books are grouped by theme, such as fairly tale versus real life, Asian immigration to North America, and discipline. Includes guidelines for selecting and evaluating books and appropriate classroom teaching…

Presents brief annotations of 30 trade books published in 2000 for children and adolescents chosen by teachers and librarians across the nation as outstanding books that are exceptional in curriculum use. Groups books into primary, intermediate, and advanced levels and notes suggestions for curriculum use. (SR)

Offers brief descriptions of 41 good books for children offering a treasury of memory, memoir, and stories. Presents books in the following categories: storytellers, folktales, voices, family, artifacts, and preservation. (SR)

Features 10 new books for children; furnishes information about the stories and what type of book, i.e. picture books, novels, autobiographies, etc. Gives number of pages and prices. (PA)

Honors the pleasures of childhood as depicted in literature written especially for children. Presents annotations of 32 titles incorporating ideas such as: readers as investigators, characters as detectives, characters readers, fun and games, and tickling the funny bone. (SG)

Presents descriptions of 14 websites that are divided into two categories: sites to help teachers learn more about expository text structure and informational sites students might enjoy. (SG)

Presents analyses of different aspects of various types of texts so teachers may make informed decisions when selecting trade books to enhance their science program. Provides an overview of three major categories--genre, content, and visual features--that the literature supports as important in the selection of books for science. (SG)

Considers how Francesca Lia Block's melding of the magic and the ordinary makes her work special. Suggests that magic is what makes people dream, and that the teen years is a great time to dream because there is still time to make dreams come true. Presents a nine-item annotated bibliography of titles for adolescents by Block. (SG)

Presents annotations of 30 works of children's literature that support the topic of technology and its influences on readers' daily lives. Notes some stories tell about a time when simple tools enabled individuals to accomplish tasks, and others feature visionaries who used technology to create buildings, bridges, roads, and inventions. Considers…

Presents an interview with a middle school student, a boy of Caucasian and African American descent. Notes that the student's candid thoughts on reading provoked the author to wonder about the middle school reading experience, especially for those who resist it. Looks at choice, time, and the classroom to help students become engaged readers. (SG)

Offers brief annotations of 38 illustrated children's books that explore the concept of characterization and how it is achieved through both text and illustration. Organizes the books in terms of: memorable characters; characters who take risks; strong female characters; legendary characters; and characters with insight. Discusses briefly 3…

Focuses on the work of Mem Fox. Explores Fox's life in order to better understand her work; examines books she has written for teachers and for parents; and reviews her children's books, emphasizing children's and teachers comments. Looks at best-loved books, bedtime books, predictable books for early readers, books that play with language, and…

Provides brief annotations of the 1999 Young Adults Choices List for 1999: 30 trade books for young adults published in 1997 that were chosen by secondary school students in 5 different regions in the United States as their favorites. (SR)