Offering insights from a research-practice partnership, we examine how five pre-K-6 teachers discussed using LGBTQ+-inclusive children's literature as backup to counter curricular censorship and community pushback.

This paper proposes that a curricular shift we call "decanonization" is shaping contemporary English Major degrees at Canadian universities. We believe it is a response to a complex set of challenges currently facing departments as they program their undergraduate degrees in English, and, in a qualified way, we endorse it as a positive…

This manuscript explores the trends of the American Library Association's (ALA's) Rainbow Book List Top Ten Titles for Young Readers for 2023. It provides an overview of the titles and curricular connections. The authors discuss how the 2023 Rainbow Book List offers a diversity of genres and topics and also delves deeply into portrayals of queer…

This paper starts a discussion of the process of extensive reading (ER) program implementation in schools from a functional perspective. It discusses some considerations that may have hindered the spread of ER into the public school systems of many countries. It makes an argument for a top-down approach being required for widespread implementation…

Although author and teacher Penny Kittle has shifted from working with high school students to college freshman, she notes in this piece that they are not that different. They still show up the first day of class as "nonbelievers" needing to be "nudged" toward the love for books that she forges through her sensitive context…

In this paper, we highlight how restorying with preservice secondary English language arts teachers can encourage them to explore what is possible with mandated texts, like those found in the canon, for diverse world building centered in empathy, self-exploration, and justice. Findings highlight the critical reflective process preservice teachers…

Using as a case study the experience of teaching Jane DeLynn's "Leash" (2002), a "pornosophical" novel about a sadomasochistic lesbian relationship, I argue in this essay for the pedagogical value of shock. I argue that shocking works of pornography can unsettle not only students' comfortable understandings of sexuality, but…

This issue's Featured Article is bold! Readers are challenged to be advocates with loud voices, ready to push back on current legislation intended to silence voices in our classrooms and on our bookshelves. The author provides readers with an overview of laws and legislation currently impacting teachers and provides ideas for what you, as an…

The student population in urban elementary classrooms has become increasingly diverse over the past two decades. While teachers have responded to this diversity, in part, by incorporating diverse texts related to race, culture, and language, few teachers have incorporated texts related to people with disabilities. Consequently, children have few…

Recently, the public outcry after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police revealed a disconnect among some Americans between historical events (slavery, the Civil Rights movement) and the present day. That is, many Americans--particularly White Americans--had believed racism to be a mostly historical construct and failed to…

This paper explores the possible negative implications of teacher selected whole-class reads rooted within the traditional canon of English Language Arts instruction and possible solutions for re-engaging the disengaged adolescent reader through choice reading and the implementation of more culturally relevant texts. Historically, English Language…

Many early childhood teachers seek to promote diversity in their classrooms through the use of multicultural children's literature. While these efforts are well-intentioned, teachers may not be fully aware of the issues of culture potentially hidden within such books, nor may they have support in considering the authenticity of the texts they use.…

Teaching Australian Gothic as a system of literary analysis can be challenging. Often linked to imprecise concepts that are difficult to identify, Australian Gothic is regularly reduced to 'something weird' or 'just a feeling'. However, the Gothic mode in Australia has established itself as an effective approach and developed some clear strategies…

From its conception in Australia, subject 'English' has been considered central to the curriculum. The English literature strand in the curriculum does not stipulate specific texts but is more explicit regarding what should be considered as an appropriate 'literary text'. Curriculum documents emphasise the need for texts to have cultural and…

In a sea of troubling reports about education, teaching, reading, and the well-being of teens, Ivey and Johnston bring some good news that shows what happens when we stop underestimating young people. This accessible book offers an engaging account of a 4-year study of adolescents who went from reluctant to enthusiastic readers. These youth…