Provides an expanded version of a speech given at the 1992 American Library Association conference reflecting on 25 years of young adult literature. Issues and trends in American society and their relationship to the emerging literature written for adolescents are discussed. (EAM)

Addresses issues that arise when children collaborate in writing. Suggests ways in which an understanding of the social nature of writing can help teachers create a more effective classroom learning environment in the language arts. Discusses the collaboration involved in producing an illustrated children's book and observations of children…

Discusses the career and achievement of the British writer Matthew Arnold. Focuses on Arnold's status as a symbol of conservatism in the current culture wars. Argues for a recuperation of a true representation of Arnold's achievement. Illustrates the dangers of misrepresenting major literary figures invoked in cultural disputes. (HB)

Profiles writer and poet Barbara Juster Esbensen. Discusses her beginnings as a writer, writing and revising, work with children, and classroom uses of Esbensen's books. (SR)

Suggests using Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" as a rhetorical exemplum in literature instruction. Calls upon instructors to identify Thoreau's writing purposes and intended audience. Suggests that students can explore the book's varied writing styles and narrative personae. Encourages analysis of the book's ethical, rational,…

This article identifies competing schools of thought about the teaching of reference work by examining the relationship among nine reference textbook authors and by exploring the educational influences of five pioneers in the field of library science. The use of textbooks to examine the understanding of a field is discussed. (93 references) (LRW)

Reveals, through a content analysis, trends in the topics that have been addressed and authors who have published in the more than 2,700 articles that appeared in "The Reading Teacher," volumes 1-44. Describes how the data were collected, analyzed, and interpreted across all volumes of "The Reading Teacher." (MG)

Discusses a project in which both remedial and gifted seventh grade students wrote a letter to an author. Describes authors' responses and the remarkable effect those responses had on students. (SR)

Discusses historical examples of how fieldnotes of explorers are altered for publication, particularly in case of Samuel Hearne's "A Journal from Prince of Wale's Fort in Hudson Bay to the Northern Ocean 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772." Suggests readers view explorers' narratives as reflections of tastes and ideologies of their age and books as…

Contains a speech from the 1992 American Library Association annual conference where the author and editor, Hazel Rochman, draws upon memories of her South African childhood to describe the effects of apartheid on white South African children and how this provided the motivation for several books created around a multicultural theme. (seven…

Gives a report on the activities of the ALAN workshop at the 1991 convention of the National Council of Teachers of English. Briefly discusses the activities of 14 young adult authors at the conference who shared the backgrounds for their novels. (HB)

Presents an interview with Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of the children's novel, "Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind." Discusses Staples' creative writing process, background, and the writer's role as cultural observer. (HB)

Discusses the life and writing career of the popular author of adolescent literature, Gary Paulsen. Considers each of Paulsen's novels individually as literary works and the entire corpus as artistic achievement. (HB)

Describes the literary genre of fantasy as composed of dubious realities founded on bedrock truths. Discusses the points of intersection between children's literature, nonfictional prose, and the fantasy genre. (HB)

Introduces Gary Paulsen as an author who deserves to be discovered and appreciated in the reading and writing workshop setting. Asserts that his appeal is widespread and that he is an author to be read aloud, to be listened to, and to be written about. Suggests activities for using Paulsen's works in the classroom. (PRA)