Teachers of beginning readers have choices in the books they select. A careful look at the features of books provides an informed basis for choosing books that engage young readers. In this article we share insights from a comparative content analysis of leveled readers and Geisel award books that can motivate children to read and prepare them for…

This article seeks to complicate the understanding of Bishop's (1990) metaphor of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, with particular emphasis on sliding glass doors and the emotional connections needed for readers to move through them. The authors begin by examining the importance of the reader and the characters he or she meets. Next, the…

Presents student-written reviews of 28 children's books. (RS)

Presents brief annotations of 28 highly recommended children's picture books. (SR)

Examines some of the issues related to evaluating and selecting picture books, informational books, and multicultural literature. Discusses historical trends in each of the three genres from before the 1950s through the 1990s. (RS)

Presents brief annotations of 19 children's picture books and 9 chapter books considered by the authors to be too wonderful to miss. (SR)

Presents brief annotations of 14 children's books that take readers beyond their own boundaries to explore other times and other places. (SR)

Reviews 21 new books and provides a list of previously published books that teachers will find helpful in introducing young children (between 4 and 8 years old) to earlier eras. (PRA)

Provides annotations of 35 easy-to-read picture books, informational books, easy-to-read chapter books, and poetry collections that serve as bridges from one type of reading to another. (RS)

Offers annotations of 26 illustrated books and chapter books for children and adolescents that the writers of this column consider too good to miss. (SR)

Offers brief annotations of 23 children's books in which characters read, talk about their reading, or in which the act of reading is important to the story line. (SR)

Provides brief descriptions of 27 picture books and chapter books for children, from many genres, which all feature characters on journeys, often momentous ones. (SR)

Presents brief annotations of 29 children's books that engage children's curiosity and promote divergent thinking. Highlights books that encourage readers to be curious, analytical, critical, reflective, and self-aware. (SR)

Presents brief annotations of 25 children's books that focus on heroes and heroines: ancient, traditional, and modern; real-life and fictional; and prominent and not prominent. (SR)

Provides brief descriptions of 27 children's books that teachers may use in approaching literary study and organizing literature units. Groups the books around literary elements, structures, devices, and genres. (SR)