The authors argue for the overwhelming importance of finding and including culturally diverse literature into the curricula teachers are authorized to teach. They discuss the implications of use and offer ideas on how to identify quality literature to include in classroom and school libraries.

When response activities and comprehension strategies are combined, classroom instruction can enhance student engagement and understanding of a text, enrich student response, and improve students' awareness of their own strategic reading. This article presents some activities, adapted from the new IRA book "Children's Literature in the Reading…

Reviews children's literature with multi-dimensional, engaging characters--characters with strengths and weaknesses who grapple with real problems and find real solutions. (MG)

Reports on a study that compared drawing, discussion, and dramatic play as follow-up activities for reading aloud. Concludes that the children who played had better comprehension of the stories read to them. (FL)

Reviews 38 recently published children's books in the categories of music, opera and dance, theater and film, the visual arts, architecture, crafts, and language. Offers a 105-item bibliography of books for a science curriculum to add to those reviewed in the December 1991 column. (MG)

Discusses 72 books published in 1991 and 1992 that represent outstanding examples of poetry for children and indicate just how wide and receptive the audience for poetry is. (RS)

Discusses 60 recently published works of multicultural children's literature. Attaches a list of books cited and a list of books for bilingual classrooms (written in a language other than English or written in English and another language). (RS)

Reviews 45 old and new children's books from Great Britain. (PRA)

Reviews 37 trade books recommended for use in the science curriculum, providing a brief annotation for each. Presents a 161-item general bibliography, with indications of grade level, listing more books not extensively reviewed in the article. (SR)

Presents brief reviews of 43 books that connect in some way to a social studies curriculum. Notes that most of the books are historical fiction. Appends a list of 59 of the best books not reviewed. (RS)

Presents brief descriptions (and full publisher's information) of 54 children's books (mostly published in 1991 or 1992) recommended by the writer. Notes that the books include novels, historical fiction, fantasy novels, picture books, multicultural folktales, poems, and books useful in the social studies curriculum. (SR)

Discusses 61 books which all create a sense of time and place and can help young readers to experience the history of the world. Offers a 23-item bibliography on biographies, a 14-item bibliography on miscellaneous books for social studies, and a 53-item bibliography on sports books. (MG)

Reviews 65 children's books about ecology, moving from ecology in general to books about particular ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them. (MG)

Provides a list of 61 children's books including recently published nursery rhymes, songs, and verse games, book-length poems, themed poetry collections, collections of one author's work, and anthologies of several poets' work. Offers a bibliography of 27 new alphabet and 16 counting books. (MG)

Reviews 44 trade books that focus on the relationships between families and friends. Offers an annotated bibliography on dinosaurs including 15 primary level books, 14 intermediate level books, 7 intermediate to advanced level books, and 2 advanced level books. (MG)