A classic is a book that gives the exhilarating feeling that a part of life finally has been uncovered. It is a book that has stood the test of time, that people keep reaching for throughout the ages for its special enlightenment. Here are some suggestions to help open up the world of the classics: (1) know if what is being read is a novel, a…

French children's literature, which includes so many masterpieces of the rarest and most remarkable kind does not constitute a literature in the strict sense. It has neither continuity nor traditions. (Author)

There is almost a revivalist movement in English children's classics, but the author questions their ability to survive in an increasingly mechanical age, and cautions against the negative effects of the new media and insensitive techniques of publishers. (SJ)

This paper (a) reintroduces E. Franklin Frazier's 1939 book, "The Negro Family in the United States," to family scholars and graduate students and highlights its importance as a groundbreaking and classic text, (b) provides both an introduction to the major thesis of this monograph and a reading of the text, and (c) discusses the…

Good literature stimulates thinking; evokes ideas, creates mental images, and engages the emotions. A classic is simply a literary work that has endured over time, has universal meaning, and explores the human condition. Classic books children enjoy are suggested. (MT)

The author recommends Tom Sawyer,'' Huckleberry Finn,'' Hans Brinker,'' Little Women,'' The Story of a Bad Boy,'' and The Peterkin Papers,'' as the major classics with current appeal. Also included are a few more recent titles recommended for children's reading. (SJ)

There are no classic children's books, if by classics we mean books that will last forever. Instead, it is a matter of constant reevaluation. At most, we have older works that are still valuable today because they touch upon the human and artistic problems of our time. (Author/SJ)

Signposts to Spanish children's classics are provided because the author feels that our century ought not to be detached from earlier periods, but rather that modern creativity should, increasingly, dig deeper in search of the rich mine of our ancient legacy. (Author/SJ)

Examines Bloom's ideas on reading and books, suggesting that his stance on determining greatness is philosophically flawed and arguing that his prime criterion for selecting great texts is premised on a problematic theory of legitimation and greatness, leading to a restrictive view of possibilities for university-level reading. The Freirean notion…

Asserts that great books, the standard classics that decades ago were fare in school curriculum, teach young readers the subtlety and nuance of how language works. Suggests that, given the difficulty college freshmen have in writing essays, perhaps it is time to reintroduce great books in schools. (EV)

Questions the current trend of publishing modern classics of children's literature in lush, expensive, newly illustrated editions. (FL)

Along with pioneering thrusts into new thematic territory for children's literature has come experimentation in form, style, and technique, even more marked in the field of illustration than in verbal narrative. This article serves as an introduction to contributions by English, French and American experts on children's literature. (Author/SJ)

This study identified distinguished children's books read by students attending two elementary schools in Honolulu, Hawaii, and analyzed the effect of reading ability on children's choice of reading material. Average reading scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) were above the norm for students attending one school and at or below the norm…

The annotated book list in this article was inspired by the scramble to concoct a college-prep curriculum for all students. The author begins with recommendations for rereading certain classics for inspiration and perhaps also for descriptions of follies and commentaries on them. Other reading suggestions are also included.

"Children's Classics," a 1947 article by Alice M. Jordan reprinted from "The Horn Book Magazine," examines the dynamics and appeal of some of the most famous books for young readers, including "Alice in Wonderland,""The Wind in the Willows,""Robinson Crusoe," and "Andersen's Fairy Tales." Paul Hein's annotated bibliography, a revision of Jordan's…