Reviews 24 books that reflect how poets, writers, and illustrators continue to negotiate and enlarge the elusive boundaries of children's literature. Describes one featured book. Presents brief descriptions of books that deal with contemporary social realism and fantasy in young adult novels; picture books that use collage, montage, and gouache;…

Discusses two series of professional books (dealing with an integrated approach to literacy instruction and using poetry to help children feel the music of language) as well as three poetry collections that will be of interest to both teachers and teacher educators. (SR)

Considers how with the move towards balanced literacy, teachers now have the chance to choose books for use in their classrooms. Explores how pre-service teachers felt about including texts with controversial issues in their future classrooms. (SG)

Describes the designing of a parallel curriculum for ninth graders who are required to take both World Literature and World Cultures. Concludes that there are opportunities for both students and teachers to connect to the cultures of the world and better understand the people and their literature. (SG)

Presents a study in which both fathers and mothers of four year olds were presented with 14 children's books representing various genres and were asked to select the five books they would read to their children. Gives reasons for their selections. Finds that there were some differences between mothers'/fathers' book selection and some differences…

Offers brief annotations of 40 science fiction and fantasy books that middle school readers might enjoy. Notes that readers can confront the realities of this real world as the fictional characters fight good and evil, search for identity, summon courage, and enjoy family and friends. (SR)

One of the hardest administrative duties for teacher-librarians seems to be collection development. One would think that the selection of books would be effortless, especially with the number of online bookstores offering used book discounts or free shipping for large orders. Deepening budget cuts and limited or untrained staff means collection…

The aim of this paper is two-fold: (a) to investigate scaffolding strategies employed by two EFL teachers in the process of instructing more and less proficient learners, and (b) to explore the most effective strategies used by teachers with students. Two elementary school English teachers were invited to take part in this study. Both were asked…

This paper explores how Scottish public library services have responded to providing a service to a virtually invisible minority group, i.e. lesbians who enjoy reading lesbian fiction. The evidence that provides the foundation for the results discussed in this paper was drawn from the following sources: a study of the 32 public library services in…

One's commitment to intellectual freedom is manifested not just in the creation of a strong and clear selection policy or the celebration of Banned Books Week but by his or her willingness to examine his or her practices openly with others. In this article, the author proposes four questions to explore in one's teaching and in professional…

Suggesting that teachers who encourage students to use many kinds of trade books across the curriculum are likely to be rewarded with students who are excited about learning, this fastback focuses on using children's literature across the curriculum. The fastback discusses reader response theory, connecting the curriculum through literature,…

The Reading Challenge project was designed to help students make the transition from picture books to reading and choosing age-appropriate chapter books for recreational reading. This project was conducted throughout the school year with students rotating through different chapter books, usually completing 2 books and related activities each…

This instructor's manual is designed to improve the instructional support program for Writing 139, an interdisciplinary advanced composition class at the University of California, Irvine taught primarily by graduate student teaching assistants. After a brief history and overview of the course, the manual presents sections that address the…

This digest discusses children with reading difficulties and how these children can be helped to read and learn more effectively. The digest offers a definition and discussion of dyslexia, examines instructional conditions that help the reading comprehension of children labeled as learning disabled, offers suggestions for choosing helpful reading…

Students at Westchester Community College (WCC) are a diverse and often disenfranchised group. To help these students find their own voices, lyric poems are read now and then in a freshman writing course. Initially, lyric poems are read and discussed during the first week of class. Without the fear of reading something incomprehensible, students…