Animals as People in Childrens Literature

In a time when fantasy is at the height of its popularity, two 4th grade teachers discuss how they tapped into its literacy possibilities. In this article the authors explain how they moved their students from reading the genre simply for entertainment’s sake to exploring its more complex characteristics and ideas. The article provides an overview of a reading genre study in fantasy which incorporates independent reading, book clubs, read alouds, artwork and higher level thinking skills for all levels of readers.