Can students read difficult but self-selected texts--and if so, how? In this article we describe what we learned about middle school students' use of background knowledge and specific vocabulary from interviews and surveys in our longitudinal study of magazine reading habits. Then we discuss the implications of these findings for structuring…

The problem of this study was to determine types of books selected for recreational reading by children in grades four, five, and six in fifteen schools, how the children ranked the books according to preference after reading them, their stated reasons for selections, and their reasons for indicated strong preferences. A total of 2,765 children…

A survey of selected neighborhoods in eight cities was conducted to determine the relevance, availability and utilization of leisure-time reading materials in both English and Spanish for Hispanic-American children. Spanish-speaking children, parents, teachers, librarians, educators and community workers were interviewed in each of the eight…

Reading for pleasure and enlightenment is a critical, and endangered, element in a well-informed citizenry. As a basis for intellectual growth, reading is threatened by media misuse and lack of encouragement of recreational reading. Solutions include emphasis on integrated skills, improved time allocation, and cooperation among parents, teachers,…

Over 350 books chosen to meet the needs of the reluctant reader in junior and senior high school are grouped under 10 topical headings: Adventure, Animals, Biography, Family Life, Folk Tales, Informational, People, People with Foreign Setting, Vocational, and Poetry. Brief annotations and approximate reading and interest levels by grade are given…