In this article, I present a qualitative analysis of third graders' experiences with a unit from their district-mandated commercial reading curriculum in which the children made strong connections between a fictional account of a Depression-era farm family's economic hardships and their own 21st century lives in a city with one of the highest…

School administrators and teachers need to recognize that most persons--including would-be censors of school-related media communications--simply do not understand the complexities germane to measuring the impact of the mass media and the specific messages transmitted to broader audiences via a variety of media channels. In particular, what most…

This article presents the results of two studies; the first of which offers insight into how three African American boys did and did not utilize a critical literacy stance to interpret texts while the second gives specific suggestions for how teachers might select and use texts in ways that foster students' critical literacy abilities. Results…

These 100 handy reproducible book lists can be used to instantly create hand-outs for teachers and parents (as well as for older readers), to add to newsletter, or to post on a Web site or bulletin board. Based on the most common needs of educators and librarians who work with young readers, these lists focus on new titles, as well as classics…

Children's literature often portrays characters with disabilities. These books may be used to promote awareness, understanding, and acceptance of those with disabilities. We provide guidelines for selecting high-quality literature and ideas for using characterizations of learning disabilities to teach students about themselves and others. Two…

Just 10 years ago the Academy of American Poets initiated the observance of National Poetry Month to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture. Since then, the movement has continued to gain momentum with the emergence of Young People's Poetry Week in 1999, a focus on poetry slams as the centerpiece for Teen Read Week in 2003, and the…

There has been much debate about whether children's books should show grim reality or a bright view. The author suggests that a book can show both. (10 references) (Author)

It was hypothesized that adults borrow books from the public library primarily as a result of browsing and that what facilitates browsing will significantly increase circulation. This report is on a study of the effects on public library circulation of putting a group of adult titles in a prime physical location. (15 references) (Author/NH)

Description of 200 recent picture books for children ages 3-10. (AF)

This brief look at what today's young people are reading does much to indicate what kind of people these young adults are. The books they read reflect their intense concern with the quality of their lives and the moral quality of their society. (NH)

Raises questions regarding the Notable Books project. (AB)

Examines arguments as to whether, how, and to what extent children's and adolescent literature is becoming postmodern. Suggests young adult literature has fully embraced the postmodern mode. Discusses three young adult novels that use postmodernist ideas and techniques: Sharon Creech's "Walk Two Moons," Louis Sachar's "Holes,"…

Notes that a middle ground of accommodation offers to settle the impasse in the debate over revising the literary canon. Discusses cross-gender reading--the pairing or clustering of a text in the canon with one outside the canon with similar structures and themes. (RS)

Reviews poetry anthologies published in the 1980s for both secondary and elementary levels. Focuses on how anthologies are structured and which poets are included. (MM)