Catherine Kurkjian

The Right Book for the Right Child for the Right Situation

The authors discuss ways to evaluate whether book selections are appropriate and of interest to particular children. They then review books that may be of interest to individuals within varying populations. A sidebar highlights the work by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Michael Smith on the literate lives of boys and how this research informs our roles as teachers in helping boys to engage in books. The article features a selection of books with boys as protagonists, along with reviews of books that may be of interest to girls and to children with special needs.

Learning to Read and Reading to Learn: Informational Series Books.

This article presents well-written and visually exciting informational series books on a range of topics. As children progress through a series, the predictability of the external and the internal characteristics allows them to learn to negotiate various aspects of nonfiction while delighting in the content and deepening conceptual understanding. After learning how to navigate one book within a collection, readers have a chance to deepen their understanding of concepts as they move on to the other books in the series. Comments and contributions from authors Brian B. Cleary and Judith Herbst also appear. Informational literacy is so crucial to success in American higher education, citizenship, and work that our current era is widely known as the “information age.”Duke, 2004

Circles and Celebrations: Learning About Other Cultures Through Literature

The authors discuss selection criteria for and provide reviews of numerous books that promote cultural awareness.

Worlds of Fantasy

The authors review books of fantasy recently published for children. Included is an essay by award-winning author Avi, who discusses the fantasy genre and his new books, Poppys Return and The Book Without Words.

The Importance of Children's Literature in a Global Society

The authors review numerous books that promote social justice and global awareness. The work of author-illustrator Yangsook Choi is highlighted.

Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: The Info on Nonfiction and Informational Series Books

The authors review numerous books suitable for use in science, social studies, and other content areas. Also included is an essay from Vicki Cobb, author of numerous science books for children.

A Pickle Barrel of Poems

The authors review a range of poetry and present ideas and resources to encourage the reading, writing, and appreciation of poetry. Ralph Fletchers work is highlighted.

Fun Summer Books (Summer Reading, and Some'r Not!)

The authors describe the benefits of encouraging children to read during their vacations, and review books and activities that will bring both fun and learning out of school.

Evocative Books: Books That Inspire Personal Response and Engagement

The authors review numerous childrens books that encourage reader interaction and response, including pop-up books, books that invite interactive reading aloud, books with evocative illustrations, funny books, and those that generate emotional response. A conversation with author Kevin Henkes is also featured, along with reflections from authors Lisa Yee and Robert Sabuda.

Literature links: Expanding ways of knowing

Those familiar with the saying “Truth is stranger than fiction” can add another truth and fiction statement to their list. Fact enriches fiction, and fiction makes fact memorable. Facts enrich fiction by providing information about such things as history, places, scientific concepts, or people. This information adds to a narrative because the reader becomes more familiar with facts used in the story. Well-written books delight and entertain even as they teach, and they often generate a desire to know more. Fiction makes historical events come to life and paints word pictures of animals, places, and things within an interesting story. Why not reap these benefits by reading companion texts from fiction and nonfiction in all of their various genres? After all, a good story makes readers want to learn more facts, and vice versa. In addition, why not encourage intertextual connections by drawing on the rich sources of information that carefully selected Internet sites provide to build background, elaborate, extend, and complement selected books? As we consider the literary interests of readers, particularly those in the intermediate grades and middle school, we note that they are beginning to sense their place in time and to better understand the chronology of past events. They are interested in problems of the world; therefore, historical fiction and fact provide opportunities to examine issues from different viewpoints. Pairing fiction and nonfiction, or other complementary sources, can build reader interest, present multiple invitations to engage with story, and expand ways of knowing.