Examines the lack of information about how children evaluate what they read and why they select particular reading materials. Offers approaches to understanding reading preferences and ways to encourage evaluative skills. Suggests six criteria for selecting good children's literature and ideas about using children's magazines to help express…

Often regarding the "great books" as too difficult for elementary school age children to comprehend, teachers have given students reading assignments that are less than challenging and have risked causing them to dislike reading because it is relatively uninteresting. However, it is possible to expose very young children to works such as…

The importance of reading in the lives of children demands that teachers, librarians, and parents give careful attention to the selection of books from which children may make their choices. The purpose of this bibliography is to acquaint adults and children with the wide range of interesting subjects and readable styles of literature which are…

Based on the notion that children become literate by trying to read and write in a supportive atmosphere with interesting books, rather than being instructed in isolated language skills, this book offers teachers ideas for using children's literature and related activities as an alternative to basal readers to make learning language skills…