Books Received

Abstract

Books Received Mark I. West Author Talk. By Leonard Marcus. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. This book features brief interviews with fifteen children's authors, including Judy Blume, Karen Cushman, Russell Freedman, E.L. Konigsburg, Gary Paulsen, Jon Scieszka, and Laurence Yep. Checking Out Nonfiction K-8: Good Choices for Best Learning. By Rosemary A. Bamford and Janice V. Kristo. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon, 2000. Intended for elementary school teachers and librarians, this book provides numerous suggestions on how to evaluate works of nonfiction written for children. Children's Literature: An Anthology 1801-1902. Ed. Peter Hunt. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. Arranged chronologically, this anthology of nineteenth-century children's literature includes over 120 poems, stories, and excerpts from novels. All the works represented are from English speaking countries. Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature. By Roberta Seelinger Trites. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2000. In this thoughtful book, Trites examines how power dynamics are portrayed in young adult literature. Her insights are original, but they are informed by theories espoused by several important literary critics, including Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Lacan. Beacham's Sourcebook for Teaching Young Adult Fiction: Exploring Harry Potter. By Elizabeth D. Schafer. Osprey, FL: Beacham, 2000. This is the first book in a series titled Beacham's Sourcebooks for Teaching Young Adult Fiction. Schafer provides back-ground information about the first three books in the Harry Potter series. The book is divided into twenty chapters, including "Characters and Themes," "Archetypes and Biblical References," and "Magic and Witchcraft." Lesbian and Gay Voices: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to Literature for Children and Young Adults. By Frances Ann Day. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. In addition to annotating more than 275 titles, Day includes profiles of 16 authors. The Story Performance Handbook. By R. Craig Roney. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001. This practical and clearly organized book includes chapters on "Reading Aloud Picture Books," "Reading Poetry Aloud," and "Sharing Stories Through the Use of Props." U.S. Latino Literature: A Critical Guide for Students and Teachers. Eds. Harold Augenbraum and Margarite Fernández Olmos. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Each of the 18 contributors to this book analyzes particular works of Latino literature and makes suggestions on how to incorporate these works in high school and undergraduate literature courses. Although most of the books covered are not intended for children, much of the background information can also be applied to Latino children's literature. [End Page 220] Copyright © 2001 Children's Literature Association