Surveys and analyzes preschoolers' and kindergartners' picture book choices by genre, familiarity, and four book attributes. Demonstrates that emergent readers appear to demonstrate genre preferences. Finds that children select familiar books more often and select books with a simple text. Counters previously held assumptions that emergent readers…

Describes how one elementary school created small, cross-grade-level groups to made their school a smaller place for students and to encourage interaction and support. Explains the role of the library media specialists in choosing read-aloud picture books that teach virtues mandated by the school district to be used by all groups. (LRW)

Provides a research-based rationale for using wordless books in early childhood settings. Offers a developmental sequence for introducing children to stories told through pictures. Suggests a general strategy and a wide array of early literacy activities, and recommends ways of communicating with families about the value of wordless books.…

Considers how in the past 30 years almost a dozen picture books for children have made motifs of rape and death their subjects, as they appear in the story of Demeter and Persephone. Discusses why this particular story is so popular and what variations exist among these retellings. (SG)

Caldecott Medal Award picture books were examined to determine whether the pictures and text presented children with stereotypical or gender-dependent sex-role behaviors. The books examined showed that sex-role stereotyping has decreased over time but still remains prevalent in each of the 11 categories used to evaluate the books. (TJQ)

Reviews 1994 Canadian publications for elementary and secondary audiences and presents an annotated list of 43 nonfiction, fiction, and picture books with specific age recommendations. (JKP)

Suggests activities for students that focus on airplanes, famous pilots, and travel. Provides a list of suggested titles with the following topics: history of flight and airplanes; airplanes and flying information; paper and model airplanes; Charles Lindbergh; Amelia Earhart; the Wright Brothers; videos; and picture books. (AEF)

Focuses on picture books that feature African Americans and ways the books can be used in the social studies classroom. Suggests that using such material will increase all learners' understanding of African American culture, while enabling African American learners to find themselves in the texts. (RS)

Images of males and females at home and at work in interior and exterior settings were studied in children's picture books published prior to and after 1980. Results are discussed with implications for children's development of career aspirations, self-esteem, and the interactive aspects of gender, power, and environment. (LZ)

Examines effect of teaching approaches on students' responses to three picture books. Finds that students in a "literary analysis" group focused on identification of literary elements; students in a "literary experience" group indicated more involvement in the story world; and students who did not discuss the stories were more…

A special section examines the advantages of using big books with young children. One big book author discusses her work, noting the importance of big book reading. Other authors present teacher-tested tips for using big books, titles of big books, and ideas for do-it-yourself big books. (SM)

This second article in a two-part series on picture book folktales focuses on the balance between the tradition from which a text is drawn and the one that it is entering. Topics discussed include folktale selection; cultural authority; cultural variations in storytelling criteria; illustration authenticity; and oral tradition. (Contains three…

Explains how to perform a booktalk as a readers' theater script and offers guidelines for staging. Two examples are given, one for a picture book and one for a novel; and nine booktalks are provided for historical books that are suitable for adaptation as readers' theater scripts. (LRW)

This article (1) provides a review of "Anno's Counting House," a wordless picture-story and game that engages children in thinking about numbers; and (2) examines a classroom activity from which children learn that the same data, graphed differently, may support a variety of conclusions. (GLR)

Discusses some of the best of the vast amount of folklore that has been published in 1989 and early 1990. Identifies and annotates 45 children's books and 10 poetry collections. (MG)