Reviews 10 of the 20 "Hob Stories" written by William Mayne. Discusses characteristics of the stories and compares them to the books Mayne has written for older children. (MG)

Elementary school students learn in school to stay within the boundaries of a single text, but students should be encouraged to read beyond a single text. A "single-passage paradigm" pervades school-based reading instruction, research, and assessment. Four scaffolding issues can promote a variety of stimulating approaches for reading…

Suggests picture books are made more difficult for kids to predict, to make sense of, and to learn from by fitting them into the didactic framework of basals. Discusses the picture book genre. Compares the original version of "Ira Sleeps Over" to the basal version. Examines in detail how picture books are made to fit into a basal…

Examines the nature of early school reading material and its distinct discourse structures, which are used to present possible social worlds and characters to children. Argues that understanding the interpretive challenges and problems that such texts present to children aids teachers in enhancing literacy. (RAE)