This article presents a review of the author's long-term research in urban classrooms. The authors explore six illustrated information books created by children as culminating activities of integrated science-literacy units, Forest and Matter, that they developed, implemented, and studied in several 1st-3rd grade classrooms in Chicago Public Schools. (Contains 9 figures.) [This article was written with Sharon Gill, Ibett Ortiz, and Neveen Keblawe-Shamah.]