The author contends that reading some narratives of make-believe can become for many children the ultimate form of fantasy play, providing them with a sense of control absent in their real world. She employs terms from French structuralist critic Gérard Genette, from Austrian child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, and from English pediatrician D. W.…

What should families and teachers look for when they choose picture books to help young children overcome their fears of imaginary monsters, dark places, thunderstorms, and dogs? This article provides criteria for assessing picture books and suggests ways to read them in ways that support children's development. (Contains 4 tables.)

Offers children's answers to the question, "Why do we listen to stories?" Explores what a group of second graders had to say about literature, imagination, and the place of stories in their own lives. Discusses the role of literature in unleashing imagination, helping humans see the big picture, and how "knowing the old helps us make the new." (SR)

Discusses the role of literature, or the arts, in society. Argues that literature enables people to interpret and shape their experience as humans; and transcends time and place and culture, helping people to re-view the past, interpret the present, and envision the future. (SR)