Relates how the series adventure story retains its hold over young readers and concludes its qualities may be both misunderstood and undervalued. (HOD)

Explores the assumptions about their readers implied by two children's novels, one admired by adults and one by children, and considers how such attitudes are fostered in early childhood. (HOD)

Examines the appealing factors of the "Mr. Men" series of story books. (HOD)

Argues that reading materials should fit the criteria of relevance, interest, and usefulness if children are to get maximum benefits from reading instruction. (FL)

Discusses the relationships between child development and children's literature, concluding that the books which succeed are those that contain identifiable stages of development, regardless of the literary quality so appropriately desired by the adult. (HOD)

Discusses the four major concentrations that can form the framework for a childrens literature program: children's interests, literary types, literary elements, and creators of children's literature. (DD)

Several points need to be addressed when selecting humorous books for children. First, people of all ages react to humor in different ways; therefore, what one child finds funny another may not. Care must therefore be taken in sharing books with and recommending books for children. Second, humor itself is difficult to define, but humor should…

Notes shortcomings in research efforts intended to discover children's picture book preferences. Describes a research approach adapted from the field of anthropology, in which the researcher conducted observations and interviews as children respond to picture books in natural classroom settings. (EL)

Notes that F.H. Anstey's children's novel "Vice Versa" is unusual for its day (1882) because it attacks Victorian fathers and insensitive boarding school teachers, and points out how cruel children can be to one another when maintaining their own power structures. (JC)

Bookstore owner advocates freedom for children in exploring and choosing books. Regrets tendencies of some adults to curb children's curiosity and self-displayed interests, while complaining of the child's lack of interest in reading. (SD)

Conceived as a twentieth anniversary tribute to the Reading Is Fundamental Program, this book contains a varied collection of stories, poems, and drawings by some of America's most famous authors and artists of books for children, relating real and imaginary childhood memories that celebrate the joys of reading and the magic of children's…

The kinds of meaning that children find in reading are discussed. When teaching young children to read, it is very important that teachers be aware of and take into consideration the child's viewpoint (RM)

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…