What happens when children come across texts that push the boundaries of what they expect to encounter when they pick up a picture book? There exists a genre of nontraditional picture books, commonly referred to as "postmodern picture books," which is characterized by a variety of alternative literary and illustrative devices. Given that…

Reading comprehension plays a key role in academic success in today's classrooms. Literature Circles (LCs), a learner-centered collaborative reading activity, brings together the ideas of cooperative learning, independent reading, and reader response theory to enhance students' reading comprehension as well as their motivation toward learning…

Discusses how psychologists use affect, behavior, and cognition (ABCs) to understand people. Argues that teachers can use these same three domains to learn more about readers, and to assess the ABCs of attitude toward the reading experience. Recommends the use of literature circles and dialog journals as simple, effective instructional techniques…

Suggests that viewing aesthetic reading as a process whereby readers and writers attempt to "make contact" and collaborate in making meaning forces one to adopt research strategies that go beyond measuring reading comprehension, and offers two studies to illustrate these ideas. (JC)