John Morgenstern has taught literature and literacy at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for more than thirty years. He traces his interest in children's literature and play to his boyhood experiences: he read four novels a week--the maximum he could take from the bookmobile that served his Toronto suburb--and incorporated…

This essay offers a commentary on how the relationship between language and literacy practices in and out of school has been conceptualized. It draws upon two new books in the field. Shirley Brice Heath's new book, "Words at Work and Play: Three Decades in Family and Community Life," which makes use of rich ethnographic accounts of…

The International Reading Association's Position Statement on Young Adolescents' Literacy Learning states, "It is during the middle years of schooling that most students refine their reading preferences, become sophisticated readers of informational text, and lay the groundwork for the lifelong reading habit." As the National Assessment of…

Web skimming may be a kind of literacy but it's not the kind that matters most. In this article, the author contends that web skimming indicates a decline of literacy. The author discusses research conducted by Jakob Nielsen, a Web researcher, on how users skim web pages. He shows how the web is damaging the right way to read.

Describes efforts to promote the desire to read and the availability of materials for Nigerians who have already been introduced to reading. (FL)

Discusses literacy in the author's own family and asks whether the term "family literacy" can really refer with any accuracy to any group of people or to any set of behaviors. Argues that literacy educators must resist abstractions and generalizations and focus upon the particularities that help shape the individual literacies of their…

Reviews the historical background and present state of publishing in Kenya, including the role of indigenous and foreign firms. Problems identified include language and literacy problems; lack of the reading habit, support for authors, finances, and publishing expertise; high production costs; and inadequate publicity. (Author/MES)

States that in the history of literacy in the United States, a high rate of literacy developed because radical Protestants needed to read the Bible. Muses on the explosion of reading followed by agitation for public education in the 19th century. Argues that people must find a voice to address cuts in funding for the arts. (PA)

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)

Highlights issues surrounding literacy, including imprecision in definitions of literacy and the extent of illiteracy, the importance of learning to read before fourth grade, special problems of minority children, and concerns related to those who can read but don't. Stresses the need to motivate people to value literacy. (DMM)

Relates how, throughout the author's life from early childhood well into adulthood, literacy has been a powerful adventure helping her to survive and thrive. Notes that she teaches reading and writing to her students to share these gifts of language with them. (SR)

Intended for use by those interested in promoting books and reading in the world, this report examines book production and reading characteristics in Bulgaria. Major sections of the report deal with intellectual production, publishing activities, physical production, distribution, reading habits, professional training, and legal and institutional…

In examining the nature of literacy in ancient Athens, this paper reviews the work of key modern scholars and their positions in the debates concerning the development of literacy in Greece, the oral culture preceeding this, and the technology that enabled it to occur. Following an introduction surveying the viewpoints of Rhys Carpenter, L. H.…

In Portugal, the word "literacy" acquired public importance in October 1995, in the first national literacy assessment report. In the last few years, "reading habits" and not "literacy" became a privileged research object, and it is the amount and kind of reading that is being measured, with the results taken as…

Discusses the issues surrounding children's series books and argues the need for children to read more quality literature. Highlights include commercial successes; reasons for their popularity, including the comfort of easy reading and stereotypical characters, social appeal, and fulfillment of childhood needs; marketing; and the difficult…