Fantasy conjures up images of witches, fairies, dark woods, magic wands and spells, time travel, ghosts, and dragons. Each of us defines fantasy in a personal way, based on our life stories, experiences, hopes, dreams, and fears. Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults, helps teachers and students of literature to develop their own understandings of this broad genre in order to evaluate and promote the joy of fantasy in their classrooms. An excellent teaching tool, the discussions are organized around three categories of fantasy literature, including fairy/folktale; mixed fantasy...

Through the window of multicultural literature, we are allowed to enter worlds not physically open to us--to view, to empathize, and to participate emotionally in ways that may ultimately change the way we see ourselves and the society in which we live. Introducing students to the historical contexts of racism and prejudice through the use of literature promotes active discussions and leads students to think about racial diversity. This book provides a mechanism for teachers--pre-service to veteran--to develop an understanding of multicultural literature and the criteria used to evaluate it....