Offers eight short essays written by English teachers recommending nonfiction books that they use successfully in their high-school classrooms to grab students' interest, to provoke lively discussions, and to offer refreshing models for student writing. (SR)

Examines Gary Crew's novel written for a young adult audience, called "Strange Objects," a story containing verifiable historical fact interwoven with elements of fiction and the supernatural. Shows how the numerous genres and viewpoints in the book challenge and contradict one another, forcing young readers to perform resistant readings…

Considers how CD-ROMs, electronic storybooks, and related technology may offer distinctive experiences with literature and various pathways of support for young children's traditional literacy development in the elementary school classroom. Discusses three potential advantages of electronic storybooks, offering examples of their classroom use, and…

Offers children's answers to the question, "Why do we listen to stories?" Explores what a group of second graders had to say about literature, imagination, and the place of stories in their own lives. Discusses the role of literature in unleashing imagination, helping humans see the big picture, and how "knowing the old helps us make the new." (SR)

Argues that stories help children change into the adults they will become. Notes that the current trend toward easy books may result in the loss of story. Discusses changes over 35 years of children's publishing, focusing on technology, paperback publishing, young adult novels, horror series, authorship issues, censorship, pop culture, and…

The history of series books is traced from their appearance during the Civil War to the present time, along with published comments from librarians about the suitability of these stories for children. A recent sampling of opinion from youngsters about their interest in series books is compared with some responses from librarians. (AEF)

Shares the reflections of a classroom teacher as she thinks about her own experience as a schoolchild and reflects on her history as a teacher of literacy. Talks about changes in her teaching practice that provoke inquiry and self-examination both in herself and in her students. (SR)

Provides a brief background on Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) and explains how the author used it with one struggling third-grade reader. Describes how RMA was used in sessions with Michael over the course of one school year and describes the learning and revaluing that happened for both Michael and the author. (SR)

Describes how one teacher uses news articles to teach connections between the present-day real world and the books that her students read. Notes that her intent is to help readers transfer concepts from one domain (their reading) to another (real life). Offers the example of how this was done with the book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. (SR)

Describes how "remaking" successfully occurred in one classroom in which general readers were remade as gifted and talented readers. Analyzes ethnographically collected classroom discussions and student work to provide telling cases of the conditions that support the remaking of a reader. Illustrates the central relationship between individual…

Discusses the importance of early intervention and the necessity of providing support for at risk first graders to circumvent the cycle of failure that, once begun, persists. Presents a study comparing the effects of tutoring fourth graders by a trained prospective teacher and an untrained college athlete. Finds no significant difference in…

Examines a collaborative inquiry study group that provides a context for increased engagement and risk-taking by a struggling, young writer. Captures the process of one child's literacy activities during six weeks of inquiry study that transformed his attitude toward reading and writing as well as his confidence in his own capabilities. (SG)

Describes a home reading intervention program for students with real reading difficulties, which has turned many students on to reading, by giving students book bags with three books (at different levels) in each bag for home reading. Discusses developing parent support, outlines contents of 30 book bags, and notes challenges and successes of the…

Argues, from the author's experience and with supporting quotes from many teenagers, that modern retellings of classic fairy tales can be very popular with teenage readers. Discusses numerous such stories, and offers an extensive list of retold fairy tales, organized into: Cinderella stories, Beauty and the Beast stories, Sleeping Beauty stories,…

Examines Singapore's multilingual society, and finds that after 10 years of bilingual education, most young adults are primarily monolingual readers of English, the first school language, and largely will not read in their ethnic languages. Examines social, political, educational, and personal factors contributing to a general lack of success in…