Discusses the positive and negative aspects of textbook writing, noting common pitfalls that will be encountered by new authors. The article also suggests how to become better educated about the process of textbook writing and enhance the chances of producing a quality finished product. (SM)

Questions the death of the author and of authority and, by implication, the theoretical erasure of the authority that constitutes the student writers that teachers face in the classroom everyday. Proposes a dialogic model of authority that infuses authority with an "ethic of care." (HB)

Investigated publications in "Journal of School Psychology,""Psychology in the Schools," and "School Psychology Review" to determine characteristics of journals and editorial board influence on publications. Concluded, among other findings, that traditional psychometric role of school psychologists is primary area of…

A passionate and persistent advocate for American inner-city children, Jonathan Kozol has spent most of his adult life teaching, speaking, and writing about the conditions and problems of urban youth. In this interview, Kozol discusses his commitment to children who live in the poorest inner-city neighborhoods. (Author/AEF)

This author and illustrator profile focuses on the Pinkney family that includes five members who write and/or illustrate children's books. Describes illustration techniques, including scratchboard and the use of models and photographs; discusses researching story ideas; and suggests classroom activities using various Pinkney books. (LRW)

Reviews awards given for multicultural children's literature and discusses the importance of such awards, which serve a guides to teachers and librarians. Book awards recognize and nurture culturally diverse writers and encourage publishers to produce more multicultural books. (SLD)

Explains the author's views on writing for young adult readers, and tries to present the awkward realities of the modern world in a way that makes them explicable to the immature mind. Emphasizes that it is important that teachers, librarians, and academics continue selecting and discarding, discussing and analyzing, and making comparisons with…

Describes the life and work of Rebecca Caudill, an author of young adult and children's literature, and discusses how she captures major characteristics of Appalachian culture. Examines four young adult novels: (1) "Tree of Freedom"; (2) "The Far-Off Land"; (3) "Barrie and Daughter"; and (4) "Susan Cornish."…

Discusses external and internal influences, such as pressure from critics and drive for financial reward, which must be eradicated for a writer of children's literature to remain focused on the primary task of writing to entertain, enchant, and inform young readers. (NH)

Chronicles the variety of means with which the novelist Michael Crichton has attempted to give his works the appearance of nonfiction. Specific and successful techniques utilized in "Eaters of the Dead" are noted, and the resulting erroneous classifications by the Library of Congress and subsequent catalogers are discussed. (Author)

Tells the story of Mario, a high school student who struggled with school and with anger, but who found a story (by Ray Bradbury) which engaged his interest, a connection which helped him, in a key moment, look to a hopeful future rather than a difficult past. (SR)

Addresses authors' motivations for citing documents through a literature review and an empirical study. The works of two highly cited authors in communication were identified and all authors who cited them were surveyed regarding why a document was cited and the citer's relationship to the cited author and document. (Author/LRW)

Describes the shifts in the author's literacy in the three years she has been a mother. Discusses the two books she has had time to read for pleasure, as well as the books she has written and edited (in her role as a teacher educator). Shares how this reflects the fragmented, challenging, exhilarating existence of motherhood. (SR)

Looks closely at the way an illustrator and picture book maker, Colin McNaughton, draws children into a special sense of being "in the know." States that McNaughton adapts a wide range of features from comics to the constraints of the picture book and relies on an unspoken pact between reader and writer/artist familiar to all comics…

Presents an interview with E.L. Konigsburg, acclaimed author of books for middle-school children. Discusses her writing, her many award-winning books, and her latest success, the 1997 Newbery Medal winner "The View From Saturday." (SR)