This book provides a straightforward approach to finding and recommending good novels based on what sparks a reader's interest. With emphasis on award-winning fiction, the guide features more than 500 novels published between 1990 and 2001. This companion title uses the same easy-access organization used in the original "Now Read This: A Guide to…

This book for early childhood educators is a practical guide for developing literacy in children between 3 and 7 years of age. Although many aspects of literacy are addressed, such as reading, speaking, listening, and writing, the predominant focus of the book is on reading. The book is not about theory, although theoretical aspects and current…

In the mystery genre, the one characteristic that the enduring figures of Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, and Encyclopedia Brown have in common is a rational mind. The source of their strength is their ability to think and think well. A study examined some typical examples of the mystery genre in young adult literature and surveyed children and…

Serving as a preface for a position statement on adolescent literacy by the International Reading Association, this article argues that assigning adolescent literacy a higher priority in the literacy community's value system is an idea whose time has very nearly come. It briefly relates the content of two earlier articles published in "Reading…

This paper examines how students' independent reading of good books--one example is "The Phantom Tollbooth"--leads to improved reading performance. The paper also touches on the important factors that are impacting independent reading: priority and time. A literature review in the paper found, among other things, that the best predictor…

Developing the lifelong love of reading requires lifetime literacy efforts. Teachers and administrators who support these efforts view the language arts from a "big-picture" perspective but realize that they must act in specific ways. Determining students' attitudes toward reading, giving them experiences with different texts, providing them with…

Effective literacy programs involve a wide range of reading and writing activities, all of which are necessary and which support learning in different ways. An essential part of the language arts curriculum involves direct instruction in reading. Many teachers are beginning to teach reading in small groups, a process called "guided…

This paper investigates the validity of two current approaches for estimating text difficulty at the first-grade level--the Scale for Text Accessibility and Support-Grade 1 (STAS-1) and the Fountas/ Pinnell system--and analyzed student performance in relation to each. Subjects, 105 first graders in two schools, used "little books"--easy to read…

Although an increasing number of young people encounter adversity in their environments, many manage to rebound and live successful lives while others repeat patterns of adversity in their adult lives. Classroom educators and special educators should therefore establish a learning environment that builds resilience in all learners. Educational…

Suggests resources useful in selecting, recommending, and ordering books that are regularly used and relied upon by English teachers. (RB)

Suggests offering literature to children that is meaningful in terms of the child's growth and furture, and the future of people, rather than avoiding all books showing people and the world in less than idyllic contexts. (TO)

Suggests six ways to prepare for and meet attempts at censorship of reading materials in classrooms and school libraries. (TO)