In this book, we seek to explain the vital importance of sharing ideas with the young through children’s literature and nurturing a richer appreciation of the books themselves. We had several goals in writing this book:

• To help the adult reader recognize the many ways children benefit from literature at different times in their lives and to appreciate what happens when a child is engaged by a book
• To acquaint the adult reader with the wealth of children’s books that are available today and to enable that reader to make critical judgments about them
• To equip the reader with a range of proven strategies to bring children together with books productively and pleasurably

This highly lauded text, with a “reader-response” approach and extensive inclusion of culturally diverse literature, has been updated to include coverage of such important topics as technology in the classroom, visual literacy, and the influence of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2000 on reading instruction in the public schools.

The third edition is packed with new and revised practical applications, and features complete revisions of three key chapters (Multicultural and International Literature, Picture Books, and Literary Meaning-Making and Children’s Response to Literature.) The authors have also expanded coverage of important and timely topics: the re-emergence of graphic novels (aka comic books); the influence of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2000 on reading instruction in the public schools; censorship; visual depictions in traditional literature; historical evolution of realistic fiction; and magical realism.