Explains how to organize a "print laboratory," a safe, nonthreatening environment where students can experiment with all kinds of print found in the real world. Presents strategies designed to promote independent reading and comprehension. (FL)

Contributors suggest ways to (1) motivate student reading, (2) improve reading skills in the content area classroom, and (3) communicate with parents. (FL)

Analyzes the roles played by females in Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." Concludes that the book offers flat and unflattering portrayals of female characters. (FL)

Describes the difference between literary communication ("belles-lettres") and information communication. Identifies 11 possible functions of or reasons for reading belles-lettres. Discusses the importance of literary communication to library users and the library's role in providing belles-lettres to the public. (AEF)

Shares how the author designed reading activities to increase students' understanding of nonfiction by adhering to three principles: purpose, classification, and collaboration. Recounts how students responded to the reading materials and each other as they developed an understanding of the information available to them. (MG)

Discusses the opportunity to unite readers of all ages by encouraging reading and discussing books on a given topic. Outlines possible topics and gives book-starter suggestions that are likely to spark broad interest such as the 1940s, World War II, or Growing Up. Suggests preparations that may be made for those who are unaccustomed to book…

Provides a descriptive bibliography of titles that show the significant role books play in a young person's existence. Includes a letter excerpted from "Dear Author" magazine, from a 14-year old to "Charlotte's Web" author E.B. White telling how the book changed her life. (AEF)

Examines two urban 10th-grade English classes of ethnically diverse students in which the teachers diversified literature selections for newly designed ethnic literature curricula. Reports the texts students found most memorable and meaningful, and analyzes the values students found in their encounters with these literary works. (RS)

Research shows that middle school students overwhelmingly cite three characteristics that they like in books they read: (1) humor; (2) mystery and suspense; and (3) reality (true stories about real people). Matching students with appropriate books helps turn students "on" to reading, and it is this "electric" reading that…

A study examined the effects of sex-typed content and sex role preference on 87 fifth grade boys' and 64 fifth grade girls' reading material preferences. It also explored how high- and low-rated sex-typed reading content and students' sex and sex role preferences influenced reading comprehension. After reading the sex-typed content, which…

The 14th Jerusalem International Book Fair, as an integral part of the International Jerusalem Symposium on Encouraging Reading took place for the fourth time. It addressed itself specifically to the promotion of reading habits among children and young people. The proceedings contain the following addresses: (1) "Give Us Books, Give Us Wings;…

This book draws on extensive demographic information to present a portrait of the nation's reading habits. Research offers the following observations and facts: reading of serious contemporary literature is the pastime of a distinct minority; the proportion of Americans who read serious literature is between 7 and 12% and contemporary fiction,…

Intended for classroom teachers and reading specialists, this monograph features high-interest, easy-to-read materials for readers who experience difficulty with text. The monograph, a revised and updated edition of a 1979 publication, includes an overview and a bibliography that contains reviews of 44 book series and 15 periodicals. The entries…

A study was conducted to determine if interest in a basal reader story could be heightened and reading comprehension improved by (1) having the children predict the story content from the title prior to reading the story and (2) having them predict the outcome of the story at a salient midpoint. Subjects, 45 children in 2 fifth grade classes, were…

This paper reviews research about how reading affects behavior. Chapter one gives a general introduction to reading effects and their implications for librarians, educators, and other professionals. The second chapter deals specifically with the 66 studies that have examined reading's influence on attitudes and emotions, analyzing these studies…