Contemporary music provides an exciting, inexpensive source of reading material for teaching basic reading skills. (JH)

Reviews 33 children's books which stimulate beginning readers. Divides the books into four categories: books that bridge between oral and written language, predictable books, easy-to-read books, and books of special interest to young children. (MG)

Discusses literature for transitional readers (8 to 11 year olds who can read fairly lengthy stories independently, but need to sharpen and extend reading comprehension and critical thinking skills). Outlines developmental characteristics of these readers, and characteristics of the literature they tend to favor. Includes references to 73…

Explores the enormous attraction for young readers of series books (such as Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and currently "The Baby-Sitters Club"). Discusses what children might learn from such reading, often thought of as pap literature by adults. (SR)

Describes what some fifth-grade students read in the summer and why. Discusses 39 children's books in the following categories: summer experiences, trips and journeys, family experiences, and the lives of children in troubled times. Offers an excerpt from a discussion of middle school readers in response to reading the books on children in…

Presents the book lists created by NCTE's Teachers' Choices project, which aimed to identify trade books that offer high potential for literary discovery and exploration within the regular reading program. Divides the books into three lists: primary, intermediate, and advanced. (SRT)

Describes a survey of seventh grade students' reading attitudes. Presents interviews with three of the surveyed students in which they each describe a book they have read and their response to its special meaning. (HTH)

Discusses the written responses of children, who were taught to read using library books, to the stories they are reading and to reading in general. (HTH)

Discusses the four major concentrations that can form the framework for a childrens literature program: children's interests, literary types, literary elements, and creators of children's literature. (DD)

Reviews 7 picture books and 15 chapter books that should appeal to readers in the intermediate grades. Discusses how the skills and interests of readers of this age are changing. (MG)

Finds that the 35 middle-school language-arts teachers studied agreed that Self Selected Reading (SSR) is an important way to improve students' reading attitudes and achievement, but that their schools rarely provided funds for buying student-preferred materials, and that finding time for SSR was difficult because of the pressure to prepare for…

Summarizes a study that investigated teachers' three favorite books as a child and what they felt to be the three best and the three most popular children's books now. Compares the results to a similar study conducted in 1949. (HTH)

Tells the story of three African American children's responses to literature by and about African Americans, showing the importance of connecting literature to the lives and interests of children. (SR)

This case study of a struggling reader suggests that learning to read is not necessarily about using the right program, but rather about making the right connection. This case describes how Ashley, a child with special needs, came to literacy in her own way in the company of Barbara Park's fictional character, Junie B. Jones, a girl about her age…

Records the progress of an educationally disadvantaged immigrant child in a literacy workshop for fifth graders, including the teacher's observations of what the child read and wrote. Claims that writing requires more attention in the classroom to help children develop a coherent mental picture of themselves and their place in the world. (JD)