Points out that the use of the library is an important part of the educational process and that teaching recreational reading and browsing skills should be mandatory.(EL)

Reviews books that deal with the adolescent need to break the ties of family and childhood and the depiction of courage and grace required to mend broken circles or to establish new ones. (EL)

Reviews four films from independent filmmaker Tom Davenport's series, "From the Brothers Grimm," and shows his use of ideas and images from folk literature. (EL)

Introduces a new column that will tell about research being conducted in the classroom. (EL)

Four authors of young adult literature describe a year off from writing, the manner in which a nonfiction author chooses his subject matter, what impelled a journalist to write his first novel 20 years ago, and how a novelist calls her imagination into play in the writing process and why she does not like to discuss it. (NKA)

Examines various images of disabled or handicapped persons in diverse novels and plays. Addresses these images as literary devices and allegorical symbols. (NKA)

Explores a teacher's feelings during a classroom journal writing period that erupts into a confrontation with a student who disrupts the class. (NKA)

Considers what literature does, its role in a child's education, and how it might be taught. Advocates the use of adolescent literature in the classroom. (NKA)

Advocates the use of plain, short words rather than longer, more complicated words. (NKA)

Reminisces about a class of students that was especially loved, and arrives at the conclusion that if the class returned she would now be a better teacher. (NKA)

Recounts the problems encountered over a period of time in dealing with a particularly difficult and unruly class, and finds that the writing process helped to close the gap between teacher expectations and student apathy. (NKA)

Compares instructions for taking a ninth-grade achievement test to the reality of the conditions in which the test was actually taken. (NKA)

Shows that, although peer editing groups are effective, they also have their limitations, and advocates instead the use of revision workshops as a practical alternative. Contains a checklist used in a revision workshop. (NKA)

Recommends several strategies to make reading novels in class more enjoyable and rewarding for students, so that they would not depend so much on "Cliff's Notes." (NKA)

Reviews the major elements of short fiction to suggest the primacy of voice in creative writing, and recommends approaches for helping students develop voice in their writing. (NKA)