It's absolutely disgusting being fourteen. You've got no rights whatsoever. Your parents get to make all the decisions: Who gets the single bedroom. How much allowance is enough. What time you must come in. Who is a proper friend. What your report card is supposed to look like. And what your parents don't tell you to do, the school does. None of this seems fair to Lauren Allen, but then she finds a way to fight back. She can even sue her parents for malpractice...can't she? "Entangled in a web of family friction, adolescent uncertainty, and romantic longing, Lauren slowly learns to make decisions that are right for her....Humor abounds, nicely balancing the reality." -- "Children's Book Review" Service "Ruefully and relentlessly funny." -- The New Yorker Paula Danziger lives in New York City and Bearsville, New York. "This novel is as much fun as Danziger's The Cat Ate My Gymsuit." -- "School Library Journal"

Provides articles covering children's literature from around the world as well as biographical and critical reviews of authors including Avi, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Anno Mitsumasa.

Children's literature continues to be one of the most rapidly expanding and exciting of interdisciplinary academic studies, of interest to anyone concerned with literature, education, internationalism, childhood or culture in general. The second edition of Peter Hunt's bestselling International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature offers comprehensive coverage of the subject across the world, with substantial, accessible, articles by specialists and world-ranking experts. Almost everything is here, from advanced theory to the latest practice – from bibliographical research to working with books and children with special needs. This edition has been expanded and includes over fifty new articles. All of the other articles have been updated, substantially revised or rewritten, or have revised bibliographies. New topics include Postcolonialism, Comparative Studies, Ancient Texts, Contemporary Children's Rhymes and Folklore, Contemporary Comics, War, Horror, Series Fiction, Film, Creative Writing, and 'Crossover' literature. The international section has been expanded to reflect world events, and now includes separate articles on countries such as the Baltic states, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Iran, Korea, Mexico and Central America, Slovenia, and Taiwan.

All too often the poorest readers learn that if they keep quiet during sustained silent reading (SSR), they're doing okay--no reading required. This is especially true in middle school where class sizes are large and instructional emphasis is on content rather than reading. In Are They Really Reading?, Jodi Crum Marshall discusses how to find out if your students are using SSR time wisely and what to do about it if they're not. Her book describes how to support middle-grade readers who need it the most, while embracing a research-proven need to increase independent, self-selected reading time for students. Jodi shares lessons and anecdotes from her classroom and from her experience as a reading specialist implementing her model schoolwide. She expands the traditional concepts of SSR to include read-alouds, writing, and accountability to scaffold struggling middle-grade students. Bolstered by these additional supports, Jodi's students dramatically increased their interest and ability in reading through a program they named Supporting Student Literacy (SSL). Classroom teachers will appreciate the clear direction on how and why to implement an SSR program. Administrators will appreciate the guidance for establishing a schoolwide literacy block that substantially improves student motivation and learning. Are They Really Reading? answers the following important questions: Why should I start an SSR program? How do I build a classroom library? Where do I get funding for books and other materials? How do I prepare the students for SSR? How do I motivate students to read? What is the role of the teacher? How do I assess SSR? If you don't currently use a sustained silent reading program, this book will help you get started on the right track. If you worry that some of your students aren't really reading during SSR or if you want to enhance your program, here is a roadmap that is instructionally sound and flexible enough to fit your students' needs.

Family Fictions provides an introduction to the history of family stories in children's literature and an in-depth critical study of the works of Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine and Morris Gleitzman.

Approximately 50 sections in the album feature poster pages (photographs and illustrations), a page of background information for each author/illustrator, and suggestions for activities to accompany the books. Suggestions for sharing literature through journal writing are also given.