Most teens already know what wealth and just-plain-fun books contain. What is sometimes missing is the encouragement to make time for reading in the middle of a busy life. Getting excited about books is contagious, and so is the reading habit. The whole family needs all the encouragement it can get, especially teenagers. Read for Your Life is more than inspiration to read. Gladys Hunt discusses how to read a book, what makes a good book, what questions to ask, and how to discern between good, better, and best. She has a way of making you want to read, while helping you to make the most of the opportunity. To help you choose what to read, Barbara Hampton has reviewed more than 300 books. Her recommendations run the gamut from classics like A Tale of Two Cities to contemporary fiction like A Ring of Endless Light; from literary greats like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alan Paton to moderns like Katherine Paterson and Chaim Potok. The book contains - Pointers on becoming a more perceptive reader - Tips on how to enjoy poetry, fantasy, and fiction - An annotated list of over 300 book recommendations - Hundreds of plot synopses - A complete index to authors and titles.

A significant body of scholarship examines the production of children's literature by women and minorities, as well as the representation of gender, race, and sexuality. But few scholars have previously analyzed class in children's literature. This definitive collection remedies that by defining and exemplifying historical materialist approaches to children's literature. The introduction of Little Red Readings lucidly discusses characteristics of historical materialism, the methodological approach to the study of literature and culture first outlined by Karl Marx, defining key concepts and analyzing factors that have marginalized this tradition, particularly in the United States. The thirteen essays here analyze a wide range of texts—from children's bibles to Mary Poppins to The Hunger Games—using concepts in historical materialism from class struggle to the commodity. Essayists apply the work of Marxist theorists such as Ernst Bloch and Fredric Jameson to children's literature and film. Others examine the work of leftist writers in India, Germany, England, and the United States. The authors argue that historical materialist methodology is critical to the study of children's literature, as children often suffer most from inequality. Some of the critics in this collection reveal the ways that literature for children often functions to naturalize capitalist economic and social relations. Other critics champion literature that reveals to readers the construction of social reality and point to texts that enable an understanding of the role ordinary people might play in creating a more just future. The collection adds substantially to our understanding of the political and class character of children's literature worldwide and contributes to the development of a radical history of children's literature.

Spiritual Reading explores how God, the Bible and the practices of reading are all connected. Angela Lou Harvey investigates how the spiritual reading of the Bible takes place in our modern, literate, Western culture. In this context, a spiritual reading of the Bible is one that aims to know and love God through individual Bible reading. Spiritual Reading discusses what it means to read the Bible well and looks at the role of the church as giving us guidance for reading it in this way. Harvey considers these ideas vis-a-vis historically orientated biblical scholarship as well as reading the Bible as a classic work of Western literature. With reference to the use of literature through a Christian framework in the works of C.S. Lewis and Alan Jacobs, Harvey analyses the significance the Bible has had in shaping other literary works. Drawing upon insights of theologians such as Karl Barth, Henri de Lubac, and Ellen F. Davis, Spiritual Reading suggests that a renewed understanding of faith is needed for the spiritual reading of Scripture. Spiritual Reading is for the reader who wishes to gain a deeper understanding on how Scripture can better connect an individual to God.

This book helps readers develop practices that will result in deep, formative, and faithful reading so they can contribute to the flourishing of their communities and cultivate their own spiritual and intellectual depth. The authors present reading as a remedy for three prevalent cultural vices--distraction, hostility, and consumerism--that impact the possibility of formative reading. Informed by James K. A. Smith's work on "the spiritual power of habit," Deep Reading provides resources for engaging in formative and culturally subversive reading practices that teach readers how to resist vices, love virtue, and desire the good. Rather than emphasizing the spiritual benefits of reading specific texts such as Dante's Divine Comedy or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the authors focus on the practice of reading itself. They examine practices many teachers, students, and avid readers employ--such as reading lists, reading logs, and discussion--and demonstrate how such practices can be more effectively and intentionally harnessed to result in deep reading. The practices apply to any work that is meant to be read deeply.

Provide focused practice for fourth graders in areas such as comprehension, vocabulary, language, and reasoning. Grade-appropriate flash cards, completion chart, and skills matrix are also provided, and it meets NCTE standards.

With a deluge of electronic conveniences and cable channels well into the hundreds, it's no wonder that many people aren't sitting down with a good old-fashioned book more often. Motivational speaker and lifelong reader Pat Williams is changing all of that, in this energetic book, Read for Your Life. With anecdotes and interviews from some of today's greatest icons in business, sports and academia, including Phoenix Suns' star Steve Nash (voted NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2005-06), Yankees' star Alex Rodriguez, Grant Hill of the Orlando Magic and former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani, Read for Your Life will help readers discover how reading can enhance their personal and professional thinking. Read for Your Life features 11 ways to transform one's life through books. - Publisher.

Find out how to teach young learners to be close readers and how to make close reading a habit of practice in the elementary classroom.

Give your classroom reading routine a makeover with innovative activities that even the most reluctant readers will find engaging. This classroom-tested resource is based on current research and practical, real-life observations, the Thirteen Steps to Reading Riches will help teachers foster a lifelong love of learning in their students. The activities and strategies in this classroom resource will boost the confidence of struggling readers while increasing their reading comprehension skills.