Learning About Books and Children p. 3
Valuing Literature for Children p. 4
Knowing Children's Literature p. 6
Guidelines for Selection of Material p. 37
Understanding Children's Response to Literature p. 52
Reading Interests and Preferences p. 54
Growth Patterns That Influence Response p. 61
Response in the Classroom p. 72
The Changing World of Children's Books p. 106
Early Beginnings: The Middle Ages p. 109
Children's Books: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries p. 112
Children's Literature: The Nineteenth Century p. 118
Children's Literature: The Twentieth Century p. 133
Recent Trends in Children's Books p. 152
Knowing Children's Literature p. 171
Books to Begin on p. 172
Developing Initial Literacy p. 173
Babies' First Books p. 175
Toy Books p. 179
Finger Rhymes and Nursery Songs p. 180
Mother Goose p. 184
Alphabet Books p. 195
Counting Books p. 202
Concept Books p. 204
Wordless Books p. 211
Books About the Common Experiences of the Young Child p. 214
Books for the Beginning Reader p. 218
Picture Storybooks p. 238
The Picture Storybook Defined p. 240
The Art and Artists of Picture Storybooks p. 241
The Language of Picture Storybooks p. 263
The Content of Picture Storybooks p. 266
Themes and Subjects in Picture Storybooks p. 270
Traditional Literature p. 306
A Perspective on Traditional Literature p. 307
Folktales p. 311
Fables p. 362
Myths p. 364
Epic and Legendary Heroes p. 371
The Bible as Literature p. 375
Modern Fantasy p. 392
Fantasy for Today's Child p. 394
Modern Fairy Tales p. 397
Modern Fantasy p. 400
Science Fiction p. 435
Poetry p. 450
The Meaning of Poetry p. 452
Selecting Poetry for Children p. 468
Sharing Poetry with Children p. 496
Contemporary Realistic Fiction p. 526
Realism in Contemporary Children's Literature p. 527
Becoming One's Own Person p. 533
Coping with Problems of the Human Condition p. 556
Living in a Diverse World p. 567
Popular Types of Realistic Fiction p. 578
Historical Fiction and Biography p. 598
Historical Fiction p. 599
Biography p. 634
Informational Books p. 658
Trends in Informational Books p. 660
Criteria for Evaluating Informational Books p. 663
Types of Informational Books p. 677
Using Literature Across the Curriculum p. 688
Developing a Literature Program p. 705
Planning the Literature Program p. 706
Purposes of the Literature Program p. 708
Different Plans for Literature Programs p. 712
Components of a Literature Program p. 717
Sharing Literature with Children p. 720
Providing Time to Read Books p. 727
Talking About Books with Children p. 729
Literature and the Writing Program p. 732
Guiding In-Depth Study of Books p. 735
The School and the Community p. 750
Extending and Evaluating Children's Understanding of Literature p. 768
Active Learning in the Classroom p. 770
Exploring Literature Through Art and Media p. 770
Making Things p. 778
Singing and Movement in the Classroom p. 784
Connecting Literature and Life p. 786
Extending Literature Through Drama p. 788
Writing from Children's Books p. 794
Evaluation and Assessment p. 811
Appendix A: Children's Book Awards p. 831
Appendix B: Book Selection Aids p. 842
Appendix C: Publishers' Addresses p. 853
Indexes p. I-1