A concise, engaging, practical overview of children's literature that keeps the focus on the books children read. This brief introduction to children's literature genres leaves time to actually read children's books. Written on the assumption that the focus of a children's literature course should be on the actual books that children read, the authors first wrote this book in 1996 as a "textbook for people who don't like children's literature textbooks." Today it serves as an overview to shed light on the essentials of children's literature and how to use it effectively with young readers, from PreK to 8th grade. The authors use an enjoyable, conversational style to achieve their goal of providing a practical overview of children's books that offers a framework and background information, while keeping the spotlight on the books themselves.