In recent years an ever-broadening range of theoretical perspectives have been used to explore issues related to children's literature. In this edited volume, scholars teaching children's literature courses discuss the theoretical frames they draw on and how these frames shape their course and their students who are educators, librarians, and media specialists. Each chapter includes a discussion of the theory shaping the course as well as a theory-to-practice approach section. Student vignettes offer additional testimony to the success of the theoretical approach used for the course.

Chapters are organized into four sections aligned by course type: Children's Literature Survey Courses; Children's Literature Survey Courses with a Special Emphasis; Children's Literature Courses with Specialized Focus; and Education Courses with a Children's Literature's Foundation.

Lauren Aimonette Liang, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Literacy, Language, and Learning in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the selection and educational use of children's literature, particularly as related to student comprehension, engagement, and social and emotional growth. She has had leadership roles in the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE, the American Library Association, the International Literacy Association, and the United States Board of Books for Young People.

Jennifer M. Graff, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Literacies and Children's Literature in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia. Her research interests include critical content analysis of diverse children's literature, pedagogical opportunities with nonfiction children's literature in early childhood education, and sociocultural contexts of youths' reading preferences and practices. She has served in multiple leadership positions for the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE and the United States Board of Books for Young People (USBBY) chapter of the International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY).

Miriam Martinez, PhD, is Professor Emerita at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she taught children's literature for more than 40 years. Her research focuses on diverse formats of children's literature, the nature of children's literary responses, and instructional strategies to support children's reading of literature. She has served on the board of the United States Board of Books for Young People, and has served as co-editor of the Journal of Children's Literature and the Journal of Literacy Research.