This concise, accessible text gives students a solid understanding of the foundations of children's literature across its various genres from picture books to folk literature. In his usual engaging style, popular author David Russell stresses that students need to first appreciate literature in order to later use and teach it effectively in their own classrooms. The text's user-friendly format includes a wealth of real examples from literature, and its concise presentation allows students to spend more time reading actual children's books. Substantially updated to bring the text and its resource lists in line with today's most current scholarship, the Eighth Edition includes these significant changes: A variety of pedagogical suggestions give prospective teachers ideas they can put to use in their classrooms: NEW! The Orbis Picture Awards for children's nonfiction have been added to the appendix. It complements the other lists of book awards and addresses the heightened emphasis on nonfiction in today's school curricula. NEW! Annotated recommended booklists on diversity, picture books, fantasy, realistic fiction, and nonfiction, follow the chapters assisting students in selecting appropriate children's books. NEW! How to use technology in the classroom is discussed in Chapter 3, emphasizing the importance of integrating various types of technology into today's teaching practice. NEW! The use of folktales in the classroom is discussed in Chapter 8. NEW! 25 things to do with poetry give students fresh ideas for teaching the genre. NEW! A new discussion on the Common Core State Standards helps prospective teachers align their literature instruction to this critical component of today's teaching (Ch. 3). NEW! Critical approaches to literature are discussed in Chapter 9, demonstrating a variety of ways of reading children's books and increasing the text's accessibility to students in English and literature departments.