Examines R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" series, and investigates why children (including the author's two daughters) like them. Explores the lures of the horror fiction genre. Suggests that the attractiveness of the genre can be found in books more rewarding in literary terms, such as those by John Bellairs. Offers suggestions about the…

Presents descriptions of (1) the 1997 winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children ("An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly"); (2) the 5 Orbis Pictus Honor Books; and (3) 12 other outstanding nonfiction titles selected by the award committee, 6 dealing with history and biography and 6 dealing with the…

Discusses use of nonfiction as a means of teaching preschool children reading skills required in intermediate grades. Identifies recent trends in nonfiction books, values of bringing together young children, and informational books and criteria for selecting high quality informational books. Includes bibliography of nonfiction children's books.…

Presents brief descriptions of 39 children's books (most of them published in 2000) that enlighten readers about new worlds by introducing countries, cultures, and people. Highlights books that present voices from the past, voices honoring heritage, the search for a voice, voices for freedom, voices of the community, and voices of wisdom. (SR)

Rates 200 Reading Recovery books on five variables thought to represent "semantic,""syntactic," and "phonic" features of text. Finds the variables accounted for 83% of book level variance. Supports the validity of the Reading Recovery book levels. Suggests that the formula can be used by teachers to grade children's…

Presents brief annotations of 20 children's books and picture books, in 3 categories: books that contain dialect, books in 2 languages, and books with interesting ways of using language. (SR)

Proposes strategies to help middle school teachers and parents remain current in their knowledge of good young adolescent literature. Notes the importance of collaboration for finding quality books, developing lists of books, defining quality, and deciding the place of popular fiction in a reader's education. (JPB)

Describes 30 children's books published in 1999 selected by the National Council of Teachers of English's Children's Literature Assembly as being notable for their potential to enhance language awareness and usage among children in grades K-8. (SR)

Notes that educators must provide time for children to read books of their choosing. Features books themed around what might be referred to as "the culture of childhood," focusing on categories such as childhood curiosity, sports and games, familiar stories and tales, shared and vicarious experiences, and children's victories. Presents a list of…

Describes what some fifth-grade students read in the summer and why. Discusses 39 children's books in the following categories: summer experiences, trips and journeys, family experiences, and the lives of children in troubled times. Offers an excerpt from a discussion of middle school readers in response to reading the books on children in…

Suggests educators should help students read religious texts such as the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran and that they should teach ways to reflect critically on these texts. Discusses ways to teach the Bible. (SG)

Several considerations need to be made when monitoring student reading progress using Curriculum-Based Measurement: the instructional level of the student, the goal set for the student, and the material selected. This study examines whether similar material or challenging material would be the most sensitive for progress monitoring of student oral…

Suggests that students are savvy in their understanding of reading motivation. Suggests that if teachers listen to students and attend to what they say about classroom instruction and reading materials, schools can have profound effects on students' motivation, engagement, and ultimately, achievement. (SG)

Describes the author's experiences teaching Girl Scouts writing and poetry. Concludes that she learned many crucial lessons from her students including lessons on power relations in the classroom, on communication across cultural and even generational divides, and on the varieties of poetry that can be made by the varieties of imaginative…

Presents a telephone interview with Carol Matas. Describes how her stories are full of opportunities for the characters to wrestle with themselves and the choices they have to make. Discusses how she has been influenced by the Holocaust. (SG)