The seven papers that comprise this book were presented at the 1977 National Art Education Association Conference on Reading, the Arts, and the Creation of Meaning held to bring together people in the arts and the fields of reading, psychology, and philosophy to explore the relationships that exist between these fields of study. Topics discussed in the book include: reading and the creation of meaning, reading for nonliteral meaning, the basics of reading, the picturebook as an art object, reading as the "great American fetish," metaphorical perception, and art, criticism, and reading. Authors are Elliot W. Eisner, Gabriele Lusser Rico, Kenneth S. Goodman, Kenneth Marantz, Malcolm P. Douglas, D.N. Perkins, and Edmund Burke Feldman. (JF)