Presents brief descriptions of 24 recently published children's books, including sequels and new works from award-winning authors, easy readers and transitional books, folk and fairytales, poetry, and new books from award-winning picture book artists. Relates the book to numerous landmark children's books. (SR)

Describes 15 children's books (published in 1998 or 1999) that offer diverse representations of gender. Discusses them in tandem with landmark children's books in categories of picture books (from traditional tales to contemporary and historical representations), series books (fitting into and breaking the mold), and chapter books (navigating…

Highlights the work of author/illustrator Patricia Polacco. Discusses her picture books in terms of themes, including family stories; "passed down" stories featuring a babushka; stories that emphasize diverse communities; stories that contain magic or a miracle; and stories that help to raise social consciousness. (SR)

Educators must continue to nurture those processes that involve social negotiation and stem from the home and community by engaging students who come from various racial/ethnic groups and their classmates in various collaborative learning structures. To be successful as facilitators of intercultural classroom discourse, it is important for…

This article traces the development in Britain of the 'real' book approach to children learning to read. It begins with reference to Kenneth Goodman's seminal work in psycholinguistics published in the late 1960s. It goes on to draw on the work of Margaret Meek at the London Institute of Education and Liz Waterland, a teacher in an English primary…

The reading content offered in Hong Kong to advanced learners of English as a second language underestimates their intellectual capabilities. Material presented to second language learners is found to be linguistically correct but containing trivial, dull, and unchallenging cultural and intellectual content. This situation is closely related to…

The product of a two-day symposium on children and children's books, this booklet features remarks of Elaine Moss, British author and critic, and Barbara Rollock, coordinator for children's services at the New York Public Library. Moss's speech discusses meeting children's need for books offering depth and involvement, while Rollock's talk…

This statement, prepared by the National Council of Teachers of English, addresses the increasing problem of censorship in the public schools in the form of pressure to restrict or deny students access to certain books or periodicals deemed objectionable by individuals or groups on moral, political, religious, ethnic, racial, or philosophical…

Adults who wish to help children come to terms with loss from death, divorce, and other separations have a good ally in books. While not a complete cure, bibliotherapy can help children cope with loss by engaging the emotions and freeing them for conscious and productive use. Numerous books have appeared for children to read, enjoy, and use in…

Enumerates the benefits for young children of interactive reading--that which involves the reader and the listener in an active, shared experience. Furnishes the titles of several children's books appropriate for the practice of interactive reading in the classroom. (NKA)

Discusses the role of the English teacher in teaching reading. Concludes that successful instruction is comprised of interaction between students and the teacher, sound methods, and appropriate materials. (FL)

Argues that by introducing young children to books that portray parents in positive images, teachers can provide a source from which children can view the world positively. Includes suggestions for selecting books that portray parents. (HOD)

Explores some of the issues raised when teachers are committed to giving students choice over the literature they encounter and over the ways they respond to it. (HOD)

Examines how Alan Durban's rewriting of Shakespeare's plays changes the meanings and beauty of the original works. (CRH)

Discusses how fantasy books can be used in the classroom to provide exercises for the imagination, to allow students to see themselves more clearly, to allow them to escape, and to generate hope. (CRH)