Provides a list of Patricia Polacco's books that feature her signature artwork. Includes ideas for activities to extend the books into the classroom or library media center. Also lists related information sources about Polacco's life and work including Web sites. (LRW)

Points out the powerful basic truth that respect is a healer. Notes that fear is not a synonym for respect, and that increasing respect for kids and for adolescence itself would automatically create better communication. Argues that all literature, be it about children, teenagers, or adults, should reflect some truth about what is rather than what…

Suggests that mainstream book review editors, as well as book editors in the black press, reinforce the notion that blacks are experts on themselves and on little else. In recent years, most black-authored books publicized in the press have focused on racial themes or featured blacks in central roles. However, books by African Americans that are…

William Apess is among a number of Native intellectuals from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to whom scholars have paid increasing attention over the past decade and more. Apess was raised in the crucible of Native New England, had been abused in various ways in it, and spent his adulthood giving voice to those who experienced the…

The author of this article revisits Simon Ortiz's poem, "From Sand Creek," in which the latter can in so few words convey both the horrific tragedy of conquest and colonization, while at the same time find a space for possibility, a means for recovery that is never about forgetting but always occurs as a kind of recuperative remembering. Ortiz…

This article argues that Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" may be read as a series which attempts to assault the Christian doctrine of God. We believe that this demonstrably accords with Pullman's personal views, and that, through his story, he seeks to foster such views in his readership. However, the accuracy of his attack falls short of its…

A professor of biology discovered that the people who are in literature rather than science, saw the same readings very differently and were looking for very different things like how nature writings expressed the author's views on nature, or what they communicated about the human experience of the living world. Further he visits London to see the…

Students will see writing as a powerful act when they learn to analyze a published author's writing style and send a written critique straight to the source. The author critiques help students to analyze their own writing and the Sentence Opening Sheet is an excellent device for this purpose as it reformats the text so that students can see their…

The ways in which James Welch's poetry and prose are used to overcome stereotypes of Native Americans are discussed. He was a great writer who developed unforgettable characters and scenes that enriched reader's experience.

An author and a poet Nikki Grimes uses her art to reach across differences such as race and culture, and show the commonality of human experience. She uses the power of her poetry to break down racial barriers, shatter cultural stereotypes, and forge community.

Walter Dean Myers, a writer, believes that a primary cause of lack of inspiration in readers is their difficulty decoding meaning because of language and societal differences. Myers especially wants and strives to reach the uninspired readers, particularly those living in the inner city, by writing, using their language and contexts.

Greg Tang has a resume that could get his foot in the door to a lot of places. A graduate of Harvard with both a B.A. and M.A. in economics, Tang has found success as a business executive, a speechwriter, a software designer and owner of a Tae Kwon Do school. After the publication of his first best-selling book for children, "The Grapes of Math"…

Previously, Robinson, McKay, Katayama, and Fan (1998) examined women's involvement in six educational psychology journals ("American Educational Research Journal," "Contemporary Educational Psychology," "Educational Psychologist," "Educational Psychology Review," "Journal of Experimental Education," and "Journal of Educational Psychology") from…

In this interview Fiona French discusses her work and career with David Lewis. She describes early influences and stresses her lifelong love of colour and pattern. Amongst other themes she considers the factual basis of most of her books and her lack of interest in fantasy; her preference for clear, simple prose; her constant shifts in style and…

Peer review is the primary means of ensuring the maintenance of standards that are deemed appropriate for scientific publications. There are many similarities, but also some differences, in the way the review process is conducted by different editors, and there are differences among reviewers in how they deal with the same manuscript--the…