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Children from literate home backgrounds, who have exposure to supportive, positive reading role models using good quality texts, are the ones who are best able to cope with the demands of learning about literacy and the transition from home to school. This study of 3-year-old children will focus on their interactions with picturebook read aloud, their repeated requests to have favourite books read over and over again, their developing sense of identity and their growing ability to respond to the books through play, oral retellings, drawings, emergent writing and ‘readings' of the stories in their own words. Over a period of time, as the children had a series of picturebooks read to and shared with them, they were able to identify a sense of self mirrored in the content of some of the books and to make informed choices about their favourites. The children identified themselves in the storybook narratives and went on to record their responses in a variety of differing modes some of which led to them becoming real authors as they constructed their own books to be read, re-read and enjoyed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is probably a comic or graphic novel to suit the needs and requirements of all kinds of readers. However, in addition, there is now a new kid on the block! A different kind of book is emerging, one that exhibits some, but not always all, of the characteristics normally thought of as belonging to comics and graphic novels. These books blur the boundaries and include elements of comics, graphic novels and picturebooks, fusing them and creating a category that is a synthesis of aspects from all of them, hence the term, “fusion” texts. This article challenges the view that comics, graphic novels and picturebooks are aimed at a younger and/or immature audience and shows how they are often complex fusion texts dealing with challenging, controversial issues which frequently deliver thought provoking and uncomfortable messages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author analyzes the seminal works of British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs. She offers an overview of Briggs' career as an author. She discusses the contributions of Briggs in raising the intellectual profile of graphic novels. She also examines how Briggs used the strip-cartoon format in many of his books including "The Snoman."

It has long been accepted that one can respond to fine art in a variety of different ways. However, it is only in the last decade or so that picturebooks have been attracting the kind of recognition that they have long deserved as art forms to be considered and responded to both creatively and aesthetically. There is a growing body of research focusing on how we can respond creatively to the illustrations in picturebooks in addition to the picturebooks themselves as art objects. There is also a growing number of author illustrators who use famous works of art as an integral part of the storyline in their picuturebooks. This article describes how one such book, Katie's picture show, was initially used as the stimulus for some reader response work which quickly led onto more in-depth, detailed responses to fine art - Fernando Botero's art in particular. It then goes on to share the oral, written and illustrative responses of some 10 year old children, showing the creative and aesthetic links between picturebooks and fine art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a qualitative research project undertaken with Y6 children. It draws on transcriptions of children's discussions; recordings of collaborative writing sessions; and the children's responses to a series of questions relating to Beanie soft toys, their origins, their intended market audience and their creator's entrepreneurial intentions in relation to the global market. The paper considers how far the children were motivated by working with popular icons as a purpose for collaborative writing. It also analyses children's stated views on the manufacturers who make, advertise and sell these types of popular toys and explores children's relationship to the consumerist ideology which surrounds popular culture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

: PurposeThe work reported in this paper was supported by grants from the World Health Organisation Programme on Substance Abuse, the United Nations Development Programme, the South African Medical Research Council, and the Medical Faculty Research Committee of the University of Cape Town.To document the prevalence rates for use of cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis among high school students in Cape Town, and to investigate whether use of these substances is associated with a set of hypothesized psychosocial correlates.: MethodsA multistage sampling procedure produced a sample of 2930 students in grades 8 and 11 at 39 high schools in Cape Town, who completed a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire contained items about whether the students had used various substances and that addressed the potential correlates of interest. We calculated prevalence rates with 95% confidence intervals and constructed a set of generalized estimating equations of use in the past month of cigarettes, alcohol, or cannabis on the hypothesized correlates.: ResultsThe prevalence rates for previous month (recent) use of cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis were 27%, 31%, and 7%, respectively. Rates were low for black females. Recent use of each of the substances was significantly associated with the number of days absent and the number of years lived in a city. Repeating a grade was significantly associated with previous month use of cigarettes and alcohol by colored (derived from Asian, European, and African ancestry) students and alcohol use by black grade 8 students (race classifications “colored” and “black” are as defined by the repealed population Registration Act of 1950). Not being raised by both parents was significantly associated with cigarette smoking by black and colored students, alcohol use by colored students, and cannabis use by female students. It was inversely associated with cigarette use by black students.: ConclusionsIt is necessary to identify the factors that protect black female adolescents from substance use. It is important to address demographic factors such as race classification and gender analytically if one is to avoid obscuring differences among groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gender stereotyping in children's books is not an issue which has disappeared, for all that we have been aware of its problems for a number of years. Here Janet Evans reopens this issue and provides some useful insights into what might be appropriate responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter study in cancer patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy was undertaken to evaluate and compare the tolerability of sargramostim (yeast-derived recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, RhuGM-CSF) and filgrastim (bacteria-derived recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, RhuG-CSF) in the prophylaxis or treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. In all, 137 evaluable patients received sargramostim (300 micrograms; 193 mg/m2) or filgrastim (481 mg; 7 mg/kg) once daily by self-administered s.c. injection, usually beginning within 48 h after completion of chemotherapy. With the exception of a slightly higher incidence of grade 1 fever (< 38.1 degrees C) with sargramostim, there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence or severity of local or systemic adverse events possibly related to the growth factors. Although the study was not designed to evaluate efficacy directly, there also were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups in total days of growth factor therapy, days of hospitalization, or days of i.v. antibiotic therapy during the treatment period. Both sargramostim and filgrastim were comparably well tolerated when given by s.c. injection in this group of patients, and no clinically significant differences between the growth factors were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]