Discusses adolescents and their experiences with death. Considers a variety of novels dealing with the issue of death that can help students cope with death in their own lives. Suggests using books about death in the classroom. (HB)

Notes how the author, an author of children's and adolescent literature, is more and more wary of the ever-vigilant advocates of political correctness when it comes to selecting books for classroom use. Discusses criticisms of his own works. Offers recommendations to influence the reading preferences of 12-year-olds. (RS)

Argues, from the author's experience and with supporting quotes from many teenagers, that modern retellings of classic fairy tales can be very popular with teenage readers. Discusses numerous such stories, and offers an extensive list of retold fairy tales, organized into: Cinderella stories, Beauty and the Beast stories, Sleeping Beauty stories,…

Describes characteristics of fairy tales. Discusses use of fairy tales and novels for teens in the classroom. Presents annotations of 31 titles including both picture books and young adult novels grouped by nine popular tales. Concludes that through comparing picture books and teen novels, there is one last chance to introduce fairy tales to older…

Discusses author Roald Dahl's view of society as revealed through his books for children and adolescents. Describes Dahl's three major works for intermediate readers ("The BFG,""The Witches," and "Matilda"). Discusses Dahl's view of the world and its place in his books. Notes Dahl's positive impact on adolescent readers; and discusses critics'…