Reflecting on 45 years of teaching and research, Lee Galda argues that practice based on transactional theory is essential for the effective teaching of literature.

Hugh Heclo's recent book "On Thinking Institutionally" (Paradigm Publishers, 2008) analyzes changes that have taken place in the past half century in how North Americans tend to think and act in institutions. The volume is receiving particular attention as it can be applied to higher education and to religious denominations, and so deserves…

Reiterates some of the major tenets of reader-response theory. Describes the "writerly" text as a source of activity rather than of meaning, and examines Gary Paulsen's "The Winter Room" as an example of the active writerly text. (SR)

Describes four books written for children about the struggles to survive, to escape, and to gain freedom of children who are refugees. Describes how fourth-grade children responded to these books. (SR)

Presents remarks from a distinguished educator regarding educational philosophy, reader response, and how to teach children's literature. (SR)

These 12 authors discuss how they write appealing nonfiction books for children: Emily Arnold McCully; Deborah Hopkinson; Joanne Ryder; Lisa Westberg Peters; Jim Arnosky; Arthur Geisert; Kathleen Krull; Jim Murphy; Jean Fritz; Diane Stanley; Jeanette Winter; and Julius Lester. Discussion includes research; illustrations; stylistic approach and…

Maintains that children's books such as "The Secret Garden" can have a strong influence on one's life. Such books offer emotionally satisfying adventures and serve as the touchstones by which we measure all literary experience. (BB)

Discusses a study of the moral meanings first through third graders found as they participated in literature-study groups at Valley View Elementary School (Connecticut). Defines morality and four types of "moral talk" observed in the classroom, and asserts that literature analysis offers a powerful tool for fostering moral development. Contains 14…

Discusses several issues concerning literature for young people in Canada, including lack of originality and the price of books. (DF)

Reviews the growing body of work that examines reading as a process occurring within a social context and having social consequences. Three categories within this literature are examined: studies of literacy and its sociocultural role; the history of the book; and the meaning of reading as an activity. Notes and a bibliography is appended. (15…

Lists and briefly describes 24 books in several categories chosen by young readers as the best books of 1986. (NKA)

Representing the views of persons from a variety of fields including parents, educators, authors, librarians, and publishers, the papers in this journal issue explore the fine line between censorship (with an eye toward silencing ideas) and selection (with the recognition that just as literature can enlighten it can also degrade). Following an…

In this essay, the author explains not only how she came to write her classic text "Literature as Exploration," but she also describes the path of her own professional journey. A conviction about the difference between "literary" and other reading led to her writing "Literature as Exploration" in the first place. In this book, she argued that…