One approach to helping children to become literate is to use good children's literature in the classroom. Children's trade books are now available on a variety of topics. Many of them are traditional stories, but more authors are also writing historical fiction, biographies, and science books. This variety of materials allows the teacher to use literature as a framework for teaching. There are several components to a literature-based program. First, the teacher could read aloud to the children on a daily basis and include a variety of topics and genres. Second, daily sustained silent reading could be a part of every classroom. The third component might be "sharing time." Children need opportunities to share reactions to books orally. After reading, children can get together in small groups or in pairs to discuss their reactions. Another way to share books is through booktalks, in which a student might give a quick summary of some books and/or discuss some of the similarities and differences among them. Students may also share written responses to books. Developing a theme using children's books is also an effective means of introducing literature into the classroom. Several examples of how books can be grouped around particular themes shows the variety of possibilities available to teachers today. (A 24-item list of children's books is appended.) (TB)