Written by influential scholar-critic and award-winning Daniel R. Schwarz, In Defense of Reading: Teaching Literature in the Twenty-First Century is a passionate and joyful defense of the pleasures of reading. This stimulating book provides valuable insights for teachers and students on why we read and how we read when we embark on "the odyssey of reading." Provides valuable insights into why and how we read Addresses issues and problems in the contemporary university and offers insights into the future Explores the life of the mind, the rewards and joys of committed teaching, and the relationship between teaching and scholarship in the contemporary university Draws on the author's forty years of teaching experience Following his long term commitment to close reading and historicism, Schwarz shows how the best literary criticism must both respect text and context Contains insightful and important readings of a broad range of texts, including those by Joyce, Woolf, Conrad, Forster, Gordimer, and Spiegelman's Maus

Why should we read? We assume that reading is good for us, but often we cannot articulate exactly what it does for us. In this fascinating book, Sarah Worth addresses from a philosophical perspective the many ways in which reading benefits us morally, socially, and cognitively. Worth leads her readers through the subtle questions of the ways in which we understand fiction, nonfiction, and the overlap and blending of other genre distinctions. Ultimately she argues that reading, hearing, and telling well-told stories is of the utmost importance in developing a healthy sense of personal identity, a greater sense of narrative coherence, and an increased ability to make different kinds of inferences. Engaging classical philosophical questions in the contemporary landscape of educational literacy and the inclusion of fiction in a classroom curriculum, Worth demonstrates how our hyper-focus on genre distinctions moves us away from a real engagement with narrative understanding and narrative comprehension.

As accountability measures for schools and teachers continue to grow, instructional practice is under the microscope. The practice of reading aloud to children may be viewed by some educators as an extra bit of fluff used solely for the purposes of enjoyment or filling a few spare minutes,but researchers and practitioners stand in solidarity: the practice of reading aloud throughout the grades is not only viable but also best practice.In Defense of Read-Aloud: Sustaining Best Practices, author Steven Layne reinforces readers' confidence to continue the practice of reading aloud and presents the research base to defend the practice in grades K12. Layne also offers significant practical insights to strengthen instructional practice-;answering the questions of Why should we?- and How should we? and provides practical advice about how to use read-alouds most effectively.Leading researchers in the field of literacy provide position statements, authors of professional books share insights on books they have loved, leaders of the largest literacy organizations in the United States write about their favorite read-alouds, award-winning authors of children's and young adult book (Katherine Paterson, Andrew Clements, Lois Lowry, to name a few) share the powerful behind-the-scenes stories of their greatest books, and real classroom teachers and librarians speak about books that have lit up- their classrooms and libraries around the world.Last but not least,In Defense of Read-Aloud features many great recommendations of books to share with children.Read-aloud is an essential practice in teaching literacy in grades K -12. In this book, Steven Layne has provided everything needed to support, sustain, and celebrate the power of read-aloud.

When teaching reading, American classrooms often focus exclusively on skills instruction. But how can you teach the how without the why? In his new book, Igniting a Passion for Reading, Steve Layne shows teachers how to develop readers who are not only motivated to read great books, but also love reading in its own right. Packed with practical ways to engage and inspire readers from kindergarten through high school, this book is a must-have on every teacher’s professional book shelf. Well-known for his children’s books, young adult novels, and keynote speeches across the nation and around the world, Steve, aka Dr. Read, offers teachers everywhere a plan for engaging even the most reluctant reader. From read-alouds to creating reading lounges to author visits and so much more, this book will help schools create a vibrant reading culture. The book also includes reminiscences from many of today’s well-known children’s and young adult authors—Mem Fox, Sharon Draper, Steven Kellogg, Candace Fleming, Eric Rohman, Neal Shusterman, and Joan Bauer—about the teacher who ignited their passion for reading. Written with humor, grace, and poignancy, Igniting a Passion for Reading will have a profound effect on the teaching of reading in our nation’s schools.

Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize, Society of American Historians “A tour de force. . . . No one has ever written a book on the Declaration quite like this one.”—Gordon Wood, New York Review of Books Featured on the front page of the New York Times, Our Declaration is already regarded as a seminal work that reinterprets the promise of American democracy through our founding text. Combining a personal account of teaching the Declaration with a vivid evocation of the colonial world between 1774 and 1777, Allen, a political philosopher renowned for her work on justice and citizenship reveals our nation’s founding text to be an animating force that not only changed the world more than two-hundred years ago, but also still can. Challenging conventional wisdom, she boldly makes the case that the Declaration is a document as much about political equality as about individual liberty. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Our Declaration is an “uncommonly elegant, incisive, and often poetic primer on America’s cardinal text” (David M. Kennedy).

★ Publishers Weekly starred review A Best Book of 2018 in Religion, Publishers Weekly Reading great literature well has the power to cultivate virtue, says acclaimed author Karen Swallow Prior. In this book, she takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life. Covering authors from Henry Fielding to Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen to George Saunders, and Flannery O'Connor to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Prior explores some of the most compelling universal themes found in the pages of classic books, helping readers learn to love life, literature, and God through their encounters with great writing. The book includes end-of-chapter reflection questions geared toward book club discussions, original artwork throughout, and a foreword by Leland Ryken. The hardcover edition was named a Best Book of 2018 in Religion by Publishers Weekly. "[A] lively treatise on building character through books.'"--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A teacher's guide to the benefits of reading to students and having the students read-aloud.