Books provide an opportunity through which children can learn what it means to be in the world and to respond flexibly and creatively to a diverse range of situations. Author/illustrator Kadir Nelson creates books that provide these opportunities for readers of all ages. A dominant theme in current conversations surrounding children's literature…

Describes a teacher's unsuccessful attempt to introduce the poetry of Tu Fu, a wayward bureaucrat of the T'ang dynasty, to a class of part-time students. Uses his students' resistance to this poetry as an occasion to discuss the importance of personal responses to poetry, as opposed to "correct" academic responses. (TB)

Reports on the responses of children in Northern Ireland to "The Twelfth Day of July" by Joan Lingard, a contemporary novel set in their own country. (HOD)

Presents a criticism of Evan Carton's description of a writing assignment, noting the contradiction between the assignment's real purpose and the rigid writing restrictions inherent in the assignment that preclude the purpose. Presents Carton's response. (HTH)

Addresses two questions: (1) What are the functions of literature? and (2) How do children respond to literature? (HOD)

Discusses reader-response theory and forces that mitigate against a reading-centered classroom. Asserts that the issues of authority and freedom are crucial but advises against demanding too much at this stage. Focuses on current practice, and suggests beginning with the routines, the "business as usual," of the literature classroom.…

Defines four kinds of poetry readers: paraphrasers, thematizers, allegorizers, and problem solvers. Recommends an approach to reading a poem that treats the poem as an expansive space in which to romp and play, to explore and travel. Illustrates problem making and lists questions for students. Discusses how to respond by questioning. (PRA)

Responds to an article in an earlier issue of this journal about using reading response in a college literature classroom. Argues that the use of reader-response theory with two-year college students requires some caution. (SR)

While there has been a great deal of debate about enlarging the canon, less attention has been paid to how students respond to "new" literary figures such as Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich, or to how instructors should incorporate them into an already cramped literature survey course. Instructors must consider some questions that…

Discusses how "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss can be used to introduce the moral issue of war to young children. Studies the written responses of 1,187 children in grades kindergarten to 6 to the story. Notes that only the fourth- through sixth-grade students (who felt themselves beyond Dr. Seuss) understood the allegorical nature…

The study reported in this paper argues for a process model of postsecondary instruction where reader-response literary theory in general, and L. Rosenblatt's transactional theory specifically, provides a theoretical framework for strategies which use computers to teach postsecondary English. The paper begins with an examination of the historical…

Explores the literary connection between writers and readers by offering examples from the work of the writers and the responses of their readers. (HOD)

Emphasizes the importance of having students write "artistic" responses to literature, thereby revealing what meaning the literary work has for them. (HOD)

Presents nine student responses to "Pink and Say" by Patricia Polacco. Gives the students opinion and often times their response to some of the scenarios presented by the book. (SG)

Analyses children's responses to "The Arkansaw Bear," a work of dramatic literature for children. Discusses two types of literary understandings displayed by the children: affective values of literature, and formal aspects of literary analysis. Suggests that it is time to welcome the literature of theater into the world of children's…