Teachers must make sure that the right book gets to the right child at the right time in order to develop positive reading habits. However, once a book is selected, students should be encouraged to think about what they are reading and use the story to evaluate and enrich their personal knowledge. Two classroom programs that use the whole language approach to reading are (1) an individualized and/or group reading and response program and (2) journal writing as a response to literature. For students who work well independently, the first program uses varied project ideas that do not represent the easiest option--such as preparing a television commercial to try to get others to buy the book, writing a letter to a character in the book, designing a book jacket, finding and playing music to accompany a scene from the book, or making a time line with illustrations of events. In the second program, the students keep a structured journal as they read a novel. In the journal, the students should be encouraged to detail their personal responses, research topics introduced in the novel, describe themes and characters, include creative writing of their own, and write a letter to the book's author. Writing and having someone read and respond can generate an English program that achieves cognitive and affective results. (Appendixes include an extensive bibliography of Canadian children's literature, a reading record, a list of projects, and suggested readings on the whole language approach. Seven references are also included.) (NKA)