Readers' advisors are tasked with suggesting leisure reading materials to library patrons. The current discourse within the field has it that these advisors ought to adhere to (what I am calling) a "pure preference satisfaction model" wherein they aim to satisfy readers' existing preferences without judging or attempting to alter them.…

In the spring of 2005, the author created a short, online questionnaire to capture data about middle schoolers and book covers, and after several pilot studies she posted it to SurveyMonkey.com. The study includes the fiction books for middle school from the 2005 Quick Picks list. Over the course of a week, participants reported to the school…

Explores the problem of how children react to stories read to them in the classroom and discusses the comments of a ten-year-old boy about six novels read aloud to him. (JM)

Recommends many books for summer reading enjoyment, concentrating on historical and contemporary fiction. Different cultures clash in William T. Vollman's "Fathers and Crows" and John Demos's adventuresome "Unredeemed Captive." Other suggestions: "Snow Falling on Cedar Mountain" (David Gutterman) and "Foxfire" (Joyce Carol Oates). For professional…

Presents 10 teachers' methods for recommending and sharing books with their students and for encouraging students to recommend and share books with one another. (ARH)

Reflects on childhood memories of reading a number of books by Leo Edwards and Margaret Pedler. (EL)

Whether teachers are horror fans or not, part of a teacher's service to student readers is to recommend recent and good horror novels. Unlike the almost idiosyncratic horror market of years past, today a series of recognizable horror writer such as Christopher Pike, D. E. Atkins, R. L. Stine and others are turning out numerous titles specifically…

This advisory list includes annotations for 88 works of fiction, a list of 105 books favorably reviewed in other reviewing sources, and a directory of publishers mentioned. The list also includes suggested grade levels and the price of each book. (RS)

Reports on a survey of high school students, who listed books they recommended for study in class, and for independent, recreational reading. Lists 84 books that were recommended. (RL)

Representing many different cultures, genres, writing styles, and interests, the 50 excerpts (from newspapers, magazines, and books) presented in this book are suitable for reading aloud to young adults. The excerpts presented in the book were chosen to introduce students to the richness of literature and to a lifetime of reading. Each excerpt is…

Reviews a variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction, for young, intermediate, and older readers. Contains a special section of books with Christmas themes. (FL)

Designed to help teachers open young minds to literature, this book presents criteria for evaluating books in all genres and their suggested classroom uses, an examination of hotly debated topics, and an overview of the significance of young adult literature. The fourth edition of the book features 30 boxed inserts containing essays by some of the…

The essays in this collection are about neglected classics of children's fiction. The essays first appeared in the "Washington Post" and the "Los Angeles Times." With a scope limited to those works (mostly from the 20th-century) already overlooked or in danger of slipping from view, the 30 essays lead the reader through a wide…

This book is a systematic examination of the range of fiction available to Australian children from 1941 to 1970. The author not only provides a guide for parents, teachers, librarians, and students who are discovering that there is a considerable body of Australian fiction for children, but he also outlines possible trends and patterns that are…

This collection of essays grew out of the "Reading Stephen King Conference" held at the University of Maine in 1996. Stephen King's books have become a lightning rod for the tensions around issues of including "mass market" popular literature in middle and high school English classes and of who chooses what students read.…