The criteria developed by the Council on Interracial Books for Children over the ten years that it has spent reviewing the value content of literature for young people is contained in this volume. The book also provides a new and unique content rating instrument designed to help parents, librarians, and teachers detect hidden messages and unstated values. In addition to exploring racist and sexist messages, the council staff reports on 235 children's books published in 1975 studied for signs of ageism conformisms, individualism, escapism, elitism, and materialism. The contents of the book include terminology, evaluating book content (the mirrow and the matrix, goals and targets, and the rating instrument), the values checklist, the analyses (preschool and early years, middle grades, teen years), high ratings for 1975 books, and the findings. The findings on the 235 books on minority, feminist, and social issue themes based on the values rating checklist, indicate that 24 percent of the books score favorably and 39 percent score negatively. There is a correlation between low quantity and poor quality when discussing books on minority themes. A large number of books is no assurance of quality, but the chance that some books will be worthwhile certainly grows with quantity. Also noted is that publishers are guilty of producing an inadequate quantity of third world children's books, and this already inadequate quantity is on the decline. (Author/AM)