Directed at the staffs of art institutions, community centers, libraries, historical societies, and schools, this practical guide is intended to help in the selection and use of films for children. "Film," in this handbook refers to 16mm films presented in public screenings--not videotape versions of films, and not material originally…

Three studies compared the amount of social avoidance behavior by mentally retarded autistic children (N=10 and ages 4-13 years) during either appropriate child-preferred activities or adult determined activities. Results revealed a negative correlation between child-preferred behaviors and social avoidance behaviors. (Author/DB)

Responds to Catherine Dezseran's call for children's plays with "serious" subject matter, approves of her ideas, and suggests that more pointed criticism of the contemporary plays she mentions would be helpful to writers of children's plays. (JC)

Author explains that children feel the meaning of some poems in relation to their own experiences, rather than having a direct understanding of the situations presented in the poems, and that by reaching an understanding of these experiences, children become able to interpret the poems on a more mature level. (JB)

Early childhood teachers need not worry about program content duplication but should realize that the standard materials for early childhood programs are merely tools to be used for the satisfaction of the three major early childhood drives; curiosity, interest in other children, and the handling of emotional impulses. (AJ)

Argues that information dissemination through stories is superior to that through unsynthesized data. Describes a new edition of Shahrazad's "One Thousand and One Arabian Nights." (AEA)

Observers rated identically dressed boys with feminine behavior, conventionally masculine boys, and conventionally feminine girls as to apparent sex, on a five-point scale. The sample to which the child belonged was the most important determinant of ratings: feminine boys were judged to be neither distinctly feminine nor distinctly masculine.…

Presents an annotated bibliography of music written specifically for young children or for occasions in which the child's enjoyment of the music is of primary importance. (MP)

Research indicated that Black children will choose to affiliate themselves with more attractive peers versus unattractive peers, and with those whose preferences are similar to theirs. The findings were consistent with results of similar research among White children. (Author/MJL)

Presents an overview of books by De Paola and suggestions for using them with students. (DD)

Emphasizes that parents' reading to infants fosters interest in literature and provides foundation for basic reading skills. Titles of musical books, point-and-say books, touch and smell books, cardboard books, cloth books, plastic books, and early stories are provided. (Author/DB)

Notes that poetry written for adults offers children qualities that are often lacking in children's poetry books: a more mature, sophisticated use of language and imagery, and an intriguing, early introduction to figures whose works they will undoubtedly study later. Suggests specific poems that children can enjoy. (HOD)

An interview with reporters and editors of a news and features magazine written by children 13 and under. Discusses the effects of children's experiences on their attitudes about themselves and about their capabilities. (SS)

Examines a classic text, Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses," within the context of several of Stevenson's own essays. Suggests that unlike many children's books, it was an experiment and one that Stevenson, for various reasons, including his premature death, was never able to adapt for future use. (RS)