Asserts that not all science fiction is great. Discusses ways to tell the difference between the good and the bad. Encourages even those teachers who are most leery of a genre with which they are unfamiliar to jump in and try science fiction as a way of opening up student minds and imaginations. (PRA)

Argues that teachers can ensure against the attacks of censors by instituting formal policies for material selection in English curricula. Gives information about those who actively seek to censor and what their arguments are in favor of censorship. Claims that yielding to censorship degrades the teaching profession. (HB)

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)

Presents a model (developed as a result of surveying college students enrolled in "Fiction for Adolescents" classes) to help teachers recognize adolescent novels which are likely to appeal to their students and which have literary merit. (SR)

Contends that historical fiction is popular with young readers and has much to offer them. Provides frameworks for selecting and teaching such novels and for linking them to classics from the same historical period. (RS)

Argues for the use of literature about characters with disabilities in introductory education/special education courses. Provides a 91-item list of such works. (RS)

Gives resource suggestions for teachers who have decided to include literature that will build, rebuild, or develop lifelong readers, relevant to the age of those in "the middle" birth order, and who are determined to address the immediate concerns of life--from the vantage point of what it looks like to their middle school students. (SG)

Presents a young adult resource list of about 20 items for teachers. Suggests resources--organizations, Web sites, and print materials--that high school teachers might find useful. (SG)

Suggests that Allison's novel "Bastard Out of Carolina" should join the list of works most frequently chosen for study in school. Notes that, as a narrator, Allison speaks clearly to the social and economic structures which disempower females. (RS)

Addresses legitimate concerns about significant problems related to the need for reading instruction in today's secondary schools. Suggests ways to use literature that appeals to students' interests while emphasizing the development of critical reading skills. Considers how to match literary interests with reading skills instruction. (SG)

Uses 14 novels to illustrate 9 characteristics that exemplify the best young adult novels written about urban youth. Notes that the novels were chosen because in their characters, their settings, and the problems that drive their plots, they respond honestly and with understanding to the needs of urban teens to read about people "just like" them.…

Discusses 22 young adult fiction titles that address teen pregnancy. Addresses issues such as female responsibility, female sexuality as victimization, and female sexuality as moral choice. Concludes that through reading and critiquing young adult novels in which girls meet the challenge of pregnancy or of mothering, teachers can help students…

Discusses 40 titles that provide an authentic look into the migrant experience, a segment of society that still exists in the United States today. Notes that these works of literature contain recurring themes regarding education, family, poverty, labor, immigration, and citizenship--all topics that are especially relevant in post-September 11…

Analyzes three young adult titles that feature black, female protagonists written by white women. Discusses the power of literature, historical perspectives on African-American publications, society as reflected in literature about African-Americans, and authorship and authenticity. Concludes that with the power of young adult literature, everyone…

Explains the author's views on writing for young adult readers, and tries to present the awkward realities of the modern world in a way that makes them explicable to the immature mind. Emphasizes that it is important that teachers, librarians, and academics continue selecting and discarding, discussing and analyzing, and making comparisons with…