The Wonder of It All: When Literature and Literacy Intersect

Children's literature is an important presence in many literacy classrooms - but it can be so much more. In The Wonder of It All, you'll enter classrooms where literature is a full-fledged partner in literacy instruction and see how creating a literature-rich school environment engages students and stimulates them to grow as readers, writers, speakers, and thinkers. The Wonder of It All details how practicing elementary and middle-level teachers can invite children's literature to become a partner in their teaching. Nancy Johnson and Cyndi Giorgis show you how to integrate children's literature throughout the school day and to use it for a variety of purposes, including addressing curricular expectations. Their advice helps you incorporate literature into the daily rhythm of your classroom, making it a vital presence that:

• builds community
• nurtures response
• creates readers
• inspires writing
• promotes inquiry
• cultivates wonder.

Johnson and Giorgis also include helpful features that provide insight into the power of children's literature, such as: Literary Letters:writtenexchanges about a book between teacher and student that offer a way for teachers to gauge children's responses and encourage further reading Conversation with…: interviews with well-known children'sauthors, illustrators, and editors that give you and your students new insight into children's literature and the creative processes behind it Side by Side by Side: specific strategies for fostering partnerships among literature, teacher, and learner. In addition, Johnson and Giorgis recommend hundreds of books, grouped by specific classroom goals to support literacy instruction. With lively discussion of topics like reading aloud, literature circles, and ample evidence of the effectiveness of partnering with children's literature, The Wonder of It All is an ideal resource for any teacher eager to make the most of the books children love to read.