Denise Johnson is a professor of literacy and director of the Literacy Leadership Program at William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. She has worked as an elementary classroom teacher, a middle school reading specialist, and a Reading Recovery teacher, and earned National Board Certification in Literacy. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in reading and language arts methods, writing, and children's literature. She was named the University Professor of Teaching Excellence at William & Mary, awarded the Instructional Leadership Award by the Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and awarded the John Chorlton Manning Public Service Award and the Technology in Reading Research Award by the International Literacy Association.

Part 1: An Introduction to Literature, Children, and Literacy - 1. The Books: Children's Literature; 2. Literacy: How Children Become Good Readers; Part 2: The Good Books Themselves - 3. Picturebooks: Beyond Words and Illustrations; 4. Traditional Literature; 5. Modern Fantasy; 6. Realistic Fiction; 7. Historical Fiction; 8. Poetry; 9. Nonfiction: Biographies and Informational Books; 10. Diverse Perspectives; 11. The New Literacies: The World of Online Children's Literature; Part 3: Children's Literature in the Classroom - 12. How Children Respond to Literature; 13. Reading to and With Children: Reading and Writing Aloud, Shared Reading and Writing, and Small-Group Reading; 14. Reading by Children: Independent Reading and Writing and Literature Circles.