This article looks closely at a subset of books about literacy in and out of school by analyzing images of children learning and struggling to learn to read in realistic fiction. There are several books in which characters wish to learn to read, worry about being poor readers, and work hard to learn to read. These books raise important questions…

The quest to explain the extreme realism found in some Newbery Award books led the authors to discover that there is no unified view of childhood affecting children's literature today. While some adults feel that children must be protected against the evil surrounding them, others feel that they must be prepared to face the world in which they…

The accuracy of information in a children's nonfiction book is one criterion the seven-member Orbis Pictus Award Committee considers when selecting outstanding children's nonfiction books for the award. The charge of the committee is to consider other criteria as well, including the clarity and coherence of the book's organization, the extent to…

This article explores young readers' fascination with particular authors. It begins with a brief analysis of the contents of fifth graders' letters to their favorite authors. It then juxtaposes their range of responses with the varying perspectives that teachers typically adopt when designing an author study, advocating a model of author study…

The three books reviewed in this article represent the continuous effort to make visible the significant bridge between theory and practice in the fields of literacy and children's literature. While the authors maintain distinct purposes for their creations, the texts each speak to a strong theoretical support for the practices they describe. The…

The author of this article relates how she presents a lesson she termed as "Arthurian Information Quest" to her college-level children's literature class. To have an idea of how books on King Arthur affect her students, the author asks them to read one of the numerous books on the topic and asked them write their personal responses prior to…

The author of this article, who writes a series of Arthurian books, states that Arthurian retellings for children often fall into one of two extreme categories: (1) they are prim, romantic, reverential tales with soft-focus illustrations and soft-headed heroes; or (2) they are overt spoofs of the literature, a la Mark Twain and Monty Python. He…

The author describes his approach to retelling Arthurian legends, where he wrote two stories in tandem: one a historical novel in which a boy, eager to serve as a squire and to go on crusade, is given a piece of obsidian, the other of stories, the Arthurian legends, that this boy sees in the obsidian. These became a trilogy. He states that while…

The author of this article states that, as a fiction writer, he is reluctant to discuss process, yet, at war with a mystical stance about writing fiction, is the belief he imparts to his students that writing is a craft that can be taught, mastered, and understood. This article describes the seemingly subconscious approach to the writing of "The…

Presents an interview with Janet Hickman. Notes that she is a highly respected scholar in children's literature and a recognized and much lauded author of novels for children. Discusses disparate topics from her earliest encounters with print to mandates surrounding scientifically based reading research (SBRR). (SG)

Describes a Master Class held at the 2002 meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English focusing on the teaching of children's literature. Includes an opening speech that moved participants to confront issues surrounding the need for sharing books from all cultures, countries, and continents. Presents shared thoughts by three university…

Focuses on children of the 21st century and their books, both of which have changed dramatically over the past decade. Suggests that teachers and librarians need to recognize and understand the implications of these changes in children and their books in order to provide a reading environment to which children will readily relate and in which they…

Describes the author's interactions with prospective teachers' resistances to books in the "Harry Potter" series and how she dealt with these situations. Recognizes that her role as a teacher educator includes honoring her students' beliefs, upholding the integrity of the academic discipline of children's literature, and adhering to the…

Shares the responses of children to an initial exploration of books with gay and lesbian characters. Intends to learn from this experience in order to plan future curriculum engagements that encourage conversation around such a critical and controversial issue, and to use differences to take some sort of action against discrimination. (SG)

Considers the resistance of preservice teachers to address sociopolitical dimensions within the context of children's literature. Presents an account of an incident, a description of the research that the author conducted, theoretical explanations, strategies which she has utilized for countering the resistance, and reasons why research such as…