The Braid of Literature: Children’s Worlds of Reading

by Shelby Anne Wolf, Shirley Heath

As parent, reading partner, and social science observer, Shelby Wolf documented countless moments during the preschool and early grade-school years of her two daughters. The Braid of Literature interweaves her careful observations and analysis with Shirley Brice Heath's insightful commentary, drawing on current research in anthropology, linguistics, and cognitive psychology. Together, they have produced an unusual study of two young children who are learning to negotiate between the multiple texts of their everyday lives and their make-believe story worlds. For researchers, this book will serve as a rich resource on a range of interdisciplinary topics. For parents and teachers, it is dramatic confirmation of the important role that literary language can play in children's literacy and socialization.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Stacy]

This is the kind of book I wish I had written, a study I want to do!

"A young child can enter the world of story as easily as Cinderella stepping into the pumpkin carriage. Yet the adult, attempting to capture the child's response to literature, is left peering into the carriage window and wondering how to get inside..." (1).

See notes in Children's Lit. file

UNC LB 1139.L3 W56 1992