Children's Literature Strategies Bibliography

Miller, Donalyn. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Miller reflects on her path to becoming the kind of teacher who inspired, rather than required, her students to read, detailing her philosophy and approach to giving students time and choice in their reading in school.

Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook. Seventh Edition. Penguin, 2013. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com

This is nearly considered the bible of reading aloud to students, selling more than a million copies. Trelease offers practical guidelines, helpful booklists, and interesting anecdotes about how reading helps students throughout their entire lives.

Marcus, Leonard. Show Me a Story! Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World's Most Celebrated Illustrators. Candlewick, 2012.

Leonard Marcus is the premiere historian and chronicler of the field of children's literature and here he focuses his lens on the art of picture books. His interviews with these illustrators glean details from their childhoods, their artistic processes, their mentors, and more.

Isaacs, Kathleen T. Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children. American Library Association, 2012.

Veteran reviewer Kathleen Isaacs offers guidance on selecting the very best nonfiction or informational books for young readers, from preschool through grade five. Organized by topics and subject areas, this is an excellent resource for supporting the curriculum with quality literature.

Vardell, Sylvia M. Poetry Aloud Here 2: Sharing Poetry with Children. Second Edition. American Library Association, 2013.

This is my own work, a practical guide with plenty of information about how to share poetry with children in a variety of contexts: for reading it aloud effectively, performing poetry together, supplementing the curriculum with poetry, and guiding students' responses to poetry.

East, Kathy, and Rebecca L. Thomas. Across Cultures: A Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children. Libraries Unlimited, 2007.

East and Thomas offer excellent booklists as well as advice on programming, projects, and activities all focused on infusing multicultural literature (both fiction and nonfiction) throughout instruction. The thematic organization makes it easy to select appropriate literature linking topics, issues, and peoples.

Levstik, Linda S., and Keith C. Barton. Doing History: Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle Schools. Fifth Edition. Routledge, 2016.

This text is a staple in guiding instruction that makes history real and relevant for students. Levstik and Barton offer many case study examples of how teachers and classrooms have been engaged in historical inquiry—collecting data, studying varying perspectives, and creating evidence-based historical work.

Hannegan, Lizette, and Sharon Grover. Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy. American Library Association, 2011.

This comprehensive guide to all things audio provides essential information on the power of audiobooks to promote literacy and build attention spans, as well as offering recommended lists of quality audiobooks for collection development. Listening activities, research support, and advice for parents round out the picture.