The purpose of this article is to assert that there are classic African American children's books and to identify a sampling of them. The author presents multiple definitions of the term classic based on the responses of children's literature experts and relevant scholarship. Next, the manner in which data were collected and analyzed in regard to…

A Newbery award sets the standard for aspiring children's book writers, provides talented authors with a steady stream of income, and enables editors to pursue their own publishing visions. Over the years, Newbery medalists have often been the first choice of parents and educators in search of trustworthy titles. However, a lot of people are…

A wealth of research documents the reading preferences of young children. However, much less is known about children's actual agendas or reasons for using and experiencing books. This article proposes the simple ENGAGE process to help adults better understand what children believe is best about the books in their lives. Twelve books are reviewed…

Undergraduate literature courses tend to neglect American fiction of the 1930s, especially the proletarian novel. Disregard of this particular genre is often based on the assumption that it emphasized a crude Marxist realism opposed to aesthetic modernism. Various examples of the genre are, in fact, worth teaching, especially because they do not…

The reading students are required to do for school bears little semblance to the reading they do outside of school. Students today are reading the same texts in school that students read a generation ago, but the varieties of text used outside of school are much different. One result is that many students are unmotivated to become readers.…

Educators know that an achievement gap exists between students of low-income and middle-income families, a gap that is especially evident in fourth grade and beyond. This essay explores issues related to this gap, including primary-level children being immersed in narrative text and, therefore, unprepared for the challenges of informational text…

Book challenges have become more and more frequent in recent years. In particular, those books that address issues most relevant to preteens and teenagers seem to be the object of many challenges. Many of the hundreds of challenged works represent literary classics and high-quality writing for young audiences. Teachers, administrators and other…

Today's emphasis on using children's literature as a tool to teach reading and writing sub-skills distracts teachers' attention from looking to children's books for their historical role in helping children navigate the intellectual, social, and emotional terrains of childhood. This article argues, first, that early childhood educators must remain…

School administrators and teachers need to recognize that most persons--including would-be censors of school-related media communications--simply do not understand the complexities germane to measuring the impact of the mass media and the specific messages transmitted to broader audiences via a variety of media channels. In particular, what most…

Notes that a middle ground of accommodation offers to settle the impasse in the debate over revising the literary canon. Discusses cross-gender reading--the pairing or clustering of a text in the canon with one outside the canon with similar structures and themes. (RS)

Argues against providing children only with reading materials which offer happy endings. Argues for literature which depicts life as both happy and sad, difficult and joyful. (RAE)

Presents and discusses criteria for selecting multiethnic children's literature. Suggests some points of departure for critical deliberation of Asian literature. Finds the terms and language of socio-political frameworks necessary in facilitating ethical deliberation over the function, value, and purpose of the multiethnic work. (SG)

Considers how in "Post-Something" times, misquotation has become a reading practice, or at least a strategy within certain practices of reading. Suggests that Post-Modernism needs a canon, a continuity of culture, in order to be Post-Anything. Describes how in making his own canon, the author posits certain genre qualities that appeal to…

Argues that secondary school students should read complete literary texts, rather than excerpts. Discusses why reading whole texts is important. (MM)

Argues that students need to achieve meaning from content area reading. Claims that comprehension of reading materials must be in evidence. Discusses various procedures designed to assist students achieve meaningful reading experiences. (HB)