The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy. Standards keep going up for students in reading achievement. Literature books for children must be rewritten in keeping up with the times in a demanding school and societal environment.…

The authors report the results of a study in which they sought to determine the effect of the race of a book's primary characters on the reading motivation of 3rd-grade students in Mississippi. Students (N = 35) from 2 3rd-grade classrooms chose books with covers that depicted main characters who were either Black or White. The authors sought to…

Argues that teachers and librarians can have a positive influence on the lives of young girls by complimenting their reading choices and search strategies rather than just their shoes and hairdos. Discusses books dealing with beauty, clothes, media stereotypes, women in sports, sexuality, and recommended reading for girls. (PEN)

Suggests that the increasingly popular genre of informational storybooks can "turn students on" to independent learning from text. Notes that these storybooks, such as the Magic School Bus books, present and explain a nonfiction topic in a storybook format. Poses four questions as a framework for examining some of the key issues that…

Presents strategies to help elementary teachers encourage their students to read by matching students with books that contain the right balance of supports and challenges. The four strategies are: getting to know the books, making initial matches, determining reading level, and redirecting students based on findings. (SM)

Many comparisons are being made among students in reading achievement. The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Reading Today, 2003). Standards keep going up for students to achieve in reading, as indicated by test…

This book provides educators, parents and caretakers with a variety of instructional strategies for engaging K-8 students. These approaches are designed to enable all students to read easily and enjoyably by utilizing different styles and approaches. The techniques are not generally found in conventional classrooms, but are specifically targeted…

This book features bulletin boards and showcases, designed to motivate readers to use the library, that have been the favorites of students in grades 7-12. Chapter 1 covers getting started, including principles of design, tools of design, background, borders, letters, leaves and flowers, opaque projector/overhead projector/document projector,…

This guide features booktalks for elementary grades of recently published (1998-2001) fiction and nonfiction titles that are either award winners, written by award-winning authors, positively reviewed in national reading advocacy journals, or representative of an emerging trend in children's literature. Each booktalk entry consists of…

Getting teens to read, much less enjoy classic literary fiction is an on-going challenge for educators and librarians. However, Holly Koelling--author, YA librarian, and "booktalker extraordinaire"--offers a variety of techniques for rising to that challenge and successfully selecting, presenting, and connecting teens with great literature in the…

Argues that, regardless of whether they have literary merit, the "Goosebumps" books (a series of mildly scary horror books for preteens) are getting children hooked on reading, some of whom do not otherwise read. Discusses students' attitudes toward the series. (SR)

Presents an annotated listing of books about all kinds of heroes for elementary school students. Stories include the young King Arthur; an assertive, baseball-playing heroine who becomes a princess; an older brother dealing with his younger brother; a Christmas story; civil rights icon Rosa Parks; and the cow who jumped over the moon. (SM)

The authors designed and implemented a voluntary reading program that was intended to reduce loss in reading achievement over the summer months, particularly for low-income and ethnic minority children. The program had two major components: (1) providing eight books that were well matched to each child's reading level and interests; and (2)…

Offering over 200 ready-to-use, successful "booktalks" for librarians, teachers, and parents, this book shows how to "hook" reluctant readers onto books. The field-tested booktalks are brief "commercials" for books that give just enough information to promote reading the book, and that help match the right reader with…

This book arranges more than 900 children's books, both fiction and nonfiction, by school grade (one through six) and by difficulty level (easy, average, challenging), enabling teachers, librarians, and parents to have an extensive bibliography of interesting and worthwhile books for every child's interests and reading abilities. The book lists…