Whether teachers are horror fans or not, part of a teacher's service to student readers is to recommend recent and good horror novels. Unlike the almost idiosyncratic horror market of years past, today a series of recognizable horror writer such as Christopher Pike, D. E. Atkins, R. L. Stine and others are turning out numerous titles specifically…

Noting that Indiana is poised to take active steps toward becoming a community of readers for its young adolescent citizens, this pamphlet discusses the foundations laid by the Middle Grades Reading Improvement program and plans for the Middle Grade Reading Network. The pamphlet discusses: how Indiana's schools have "failed" young…

The current system of elementary level reading instruction allows no place for reading for pleasure. While few deny the teacher's role in helping children master the mechanics of reading, some question whether it is equally important to help children learn the inherent pleasure of reading literature for its own sake. The current systems approach…

Disagrees with the attributes two critics give to nonfiction. Stresses presenting the complexity of the world without analyzing it. (EL)

Seven well-known people describe their early experiences with books and reading and tell how they became avid readers. (MD)

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

Argues the importance of including good literature in elementary and secondary school curricula and the need to fight against watered down versions of texts. (FL)

Offers suggestions for use by parents and teachers to encourage children to read for pleasure. (FL)

Describes the text and the suitability of recent books that deal with the subjects of eagles, insect's bodies, geology, human anatomy, and redwoods. (CRH)

This farewell column reviews the form of fiction that dominates children's literature--the short story. Explains why the column's author is giving it up to pursue his own writing. (CRH)

Describes the advantages of presenting students with novels designed for them and notes some recommended works with which students can be successful. (CRH)

Reviews and recommends recent new publications and rereleases of both fiction and nonfiction works for young children, older adolescents, and adults. Genres include science fiction, mysteries, and biographies. (CRH)

Rural offspring of the back-to-the-land people of the late 1960s appear to have substituted reading for television viewing as a primary pastime. (LH)

Seven scholars respond individually to these questions: Do you read many contemporary novels? If you do, whose novels do you read and for what reasons? If you no longer read many contemporary novels, why have you ceased to do so and what kinds of reading have supplanted them? (Editor/SJL)

Suggests that reading is a powerful source in acquiring language competence. The author argues that children do not enjoy grammar instruction, but love to hear stories and read books that they select on their own. Given the lack of clear evidence for focusing on form, it is concluded that free reading should be an option for immersion children.…