Lehman, Barbara (2007). Children’s Literature and Learning: Literary Study Across the Curriculum. Reviewed by Gloria Griffin Reading, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Lehman, Barbara (2007). Children’s Literature and Learning: Literary Study Across the Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press Pp. 140     $23     ISBN 978-0-8077-4823-7 Reviewed by Gloria Griffin Reading Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville August 25, 2008 If you are an avid underliner of meaningful text, as I am, you will find yourself continually underlining sections from each chapter of Barbara Lehman’s book, Children’s Literature and Learning. Lehman begins her text with a thorough discussion of reading theory that is clear enough for a beginner and complex enough for a graduate review. Drawing on her own experience, she identifies various classroom practices and explains the theoretical underpinnings for those practices thus offering the reader a first-rate theory- to-practice paradigm. Her goal is unambiguous; it is to “demonstrate explicit relationships between theory and classroom application (p. 12). Lehman then packs 114 pages with powerful narrative which quietly yet authoritatively achieves her goal. Through personal examples and references to others, she describes the power of teaching reading skills (efferent) in concert with teaching the love of reading (aesthetic) through integrating literature into the curriculum. In her final chapter, Lehman brings her “theory to practice” discussion full circle by reminding teachers that it is their theory of literature, reading, and children that guides the instructional decisions they make. She makes a strong case that in order to be a professional teacher, not a practitioner, it is essential that teachers know what they believe about learning and about children then connect their practices to those beliefs. Lehman also addresses the real world constraints of basal readers and standardized testing then offers creative, concrete ways to honor those constraints without destroying the student-centered, theory-based reading program for which all good teachers strive. To her credit, she does not shy away from hot-button topics that threaten and often intimidate the creative teacher. Instead, she directly addresses topics as censorship, testing, and state mandates sensitively while continually offering practical suggestions. In today’s environment in which administrators and state/federal bureaucrats are making decisions about classrooms, she encourages teachers to remain strong, continue learning, and acquire strategies for walking responsibly in both worlds – that of acknowledging mandates while creatively tailoring teaching to students. Throughout her discussions, she continually supports teachers by offering concrete and meaningful suggestions that are rooted in solid theoretical soil. Lehman would have served the reader even more effectively had these political issues been addressed earlier in her text. Testing is in the forefront of teachers’ minds and their tendency is to view everything through the fearful lens of School Report Cards and State Reports. Addressing these universal concerns earlier would have allowed the reader to take a deep breath, understand that the author both knew and understood their challenges, and was realistically responsive to the political ramifications of their curricular and instructional decisions. In other words, they would know from the outset that this author was both knowledgeable of and responsive to the world in which they live. There is nothing dictatorial or condescending in Lehman’s style. There is no Mount Olympus approach. Instead, there is the sense that a very experienced and wise mentor is quietly inviting the reader to join her as she introduces and discusses the “principles that guide her thinking.” Throughout the text, Lehman makes a strong case continually supporting her position that there is no “dichotomy between literary and literacy learning” and that teachers can both “nurture pleasure and teach skills” (p. 26). Reading Lehman’s description of her classroom makes you wish that every child you ever loved could have been one of her students. Lehman makes her book even stronger by including valuable appendices. In them, she provides readers with a concise glossary of literary terms allowing a quick and easy reference or review for the readers who need it. She also provides a rich summary of literary and child development theories offering significant signposts to aid the reader in identifying his or her own theoretical underpinnings. Finally, Lehman offers an annotated bibliography of all the children’s books that she cited. Her references reflect scholarship of the highest order. After reading this book, I determined that it would be my next graduate level text. It is a worthy read for beginning teachers as well as veteran teachers. Were this a television review, Lehman’s book would definitely receive two thumbs up! About the Reviewer Gloria Griffin Reading is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she teaches Literature Across the Curriculum to both graduate and undergraduate students.