This study examined whether reading books alone, without adult-led discussions or other intervention, can change children's attitudes toward specific objects. A variation of the semantic differential test was administered to 22 fifth graders to determine their attitudes toward seven countries. England, France, and Holland were regarded as…

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…

To appraise the value of a creative dramatics program in a public library setting was the purpose of this study. Nine public library branches comprised the setting for the experiment. At each branch there were three units: (1) creative dramatics, (2) storytelling, and (3) library usage. Storytelling and library usage were the control group. Pre…

Documents the multicultural children's literature preferences of low-ability African and Hispanic American fifth graders. Finds that while the African American students showed a strong preference for culturally conscious (authentic) literature, the Hispanic American students rated these books less favorably. (RS)

The impact of the sex of a story's main character on boys' and girls' reading interest and comprehension was studied with 540 fifth graders. A strong sex-of-reader/sex-of-main-character correlation was observed on the interest measure, while it had no effect on reading comprehension. (TJH)

In this informal survey, questionnaires about reading and television were distributed to 212 fifth and sixth graders in eight states. This article summarizes responses on favorite authors, favorite titles read in the last year, favorite kinds of books, and preferences for reading or television. (SJL)

To determine whether children find paperback books more appealing than hardbound books, children's reactions to paperback books were compared with their reactions to the same titles in hardbound format. A total of 150 fifth graders were divided into two groups: 78 children (42 boys and 36 girls) examined 30 hardbound books, and 72 children (38…

The twofold purpose of this study was to determine the reasons and motivations for the choice of favorite books made by fifth grade children and to determine whether teachers and librarians were able to identify the reasons influencing the children in this selection. Results showed that primary interest areas were animals, mystery and ghost…

The assumption that readers understand best and respond most positively to writing and illustrations which reflect their own first-hand experience was tested. To elicit response from children, four books by Byrd Baylor were used in three classes of fifth graders, in urban, suburban, and rural schools. After the books were read and the pictures…

Reports the findings of a study that replicated work done in the early 1970s concerning the media preferences and reading interests of intermediate grade children. Shows that the reading interests of boys remained much the same, with those of girls changing. Both groups continued to prefer television over print media. (FL)

The content of books chosen independently by fourth, fifth, and sixth, graders was compared with the content of four selected basal reading texts at the same three grade levels. The selections of the children and from the texts were classified into twenty-one categories, and then the percentages of the children's choices within these categories…