As a reference guide to selection of children's books, this book considers the appropriateness of such books for bibliotherapy as well as issues of a societal and developmental nature. Each of the book's chapters contains an introduction to an issue, a section relating particular books to the topic, suggestions for activities that teachers or concerned adults may follow, reading extension activities, an annotated list of sources, and a selected recommended list of children's books pertaining to the topic. The chapter topics include (1) the family, with sections on siblings, divorce, adoption and foster care; (2) sex; (3) gender roles, with sections on history and biography, girls as main characters, and men and women in children's books; (4) heritage, with sections on Native Americans, folklore, history, customs, contemporary life, and Afro-American heritage, as well as bibliographies on Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Jewish Americans; (5) special needs, with sections on physical disabilities and neurological disabilities, among others; (6) old age; (7) death; (8) war; and (9) a method for instituting a reading program. Appendixes include publishers' addresses, selected children's book awards, and other references for children's literature. (CRH)