| Acknowledgments | xi |
Chapter 1 | Literature for the Gifted: A Gateway to Greatness | 1 |
| Imagination Illuminates Reality | 2 |
| Inspired Writers | 2 |
| Books to Add Zest | 3 |
| Books as Experience | 4 |
| Traits and Needs of Gifted Children | 5 |
| Notes | 6 |
Chapter 2 | Picture Books for Gifted Programs | 7 |
| The Need to Belong | 7 |
| The Need to Achieve and Feel Self-Esteem | 11 |
| About Black Bears | 17 |
| The Need for Beauty, Order, and Harmony | 17 |
| The Need to Cope with Stress | 20 |
| The Need for Laughter, Nonsense, and Expanded Vocabulary | 23 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts | 28 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Animal Families | 30 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Community Helpers | 33 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Africa | 37 |
| Introducing the Unit | 37 |
| Geography | 38 |
| Problem Solving | 38 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Rocks | 41 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Robots | 44 |
| The Need to Know and Extend Developing Concepts: Earthwatch | 47 |
| Favorite Picture and Poetry Books of the 1990s | 53 |
Chapter 3 | Exercising the Imagination: Fairy Tales and Fantasy | 57 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: China | 58 |
| More Tales from China | 60 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: South Africa | 61 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: Great Britain and Switzerland | 62 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: Mexico | 63 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: Peru | 64 |
| About Peru | 64 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: Russia | 65 |
| About Russia | 65 |
| Reading the World with Folktales: Australia | 66 |
| Folktales in U.S. Studies | 67 |
| Fantasy | 70 |
Chapter 4 | The Classics and Poetry | 105 |
| Introduction | 105 |
| To the Teacher | 106 |
| Activities to Improve Skills Through Classic Literature | 106 |
| Creative Thinking | 106 |
| Critical Thinking | 106 |
| Vocabulary | 106 |
| Problem Solving | 106 |
| Imaging | 106 |
| Observation | 107 |
| Children's Classics | 108 |
| Classic Author: Robert Louis Stevenson | 108 |
| Classic Author: Jules Verne | 112 |
| Classic Author: Howard Pyle | 114 |
| Classic Author: Johann Wyss | 117 |
| Classic Author: Mark Twain | 118 |
| Classic Author: Jack London | 121 |
| Classic Author: Washington Irving | 124 |
| Classic Author: Rudyard Kipling | 126 |
| Classic Author: Kenneth Grahame | 130 |
| Classic Author: James Barrie | 132 |
| Classic Author: Daniel Defoe | 133 |
| Classic Author: Johanna Spyri | 135 |
| Introducing Shakespeare | 138 |
| "Romeo and Juliet" | |
| Ocean Voyages: A Thematic Unit Blending the Classics and Contemporary Literature | 143 |
Chapter 5 | Exploring Diversity | 149 |
| A Picture Book for All Ages | 149 |
| Native American Folklore: Picture Book | 151 |
| Native American Folktales: Brother Eagle, Sister Sky | 155 |
| Native Americans: Novel | 156 |
| Native Americans Today: Novels | 159 |
| African-Americans: Picture Book | 159 |
| More Picture Books to Read | 161 |
| Reconciling Differences: Novel | 162 |
| African-Americans: Novel | 165 |
| The African-American Hero: Novel | 169 |
| Hispanic Folktales: Picture Books | 172 |
| Hispanic Americans: Picture Books | 173 |
| Hispanic Americans: Novels | 175 |
| Hispanic Literature: Novels | 177 |
| Asian-Americans: Picture Books | 179 |
| Asian Literature | 180 |
| Clash of Cultures | 184 |
| Asian-Americans | 186 |
| The New Immigrants: Early 1900s | 186 |
| The World War II Internment and Release of Japanese-Americans: 1940s | 187 |
| Immigrants from Cambodia: 1980s | 187 |
Chapter 6 | Learning from the Past | 189 |
| The Middle Ages | 189 |
| About King Arthur | 193 |
| About the Round Table | 193 |
| U.S. History | 197 |
| Related Reading | 198 |
| World War II | 220 |
Chapter 7 | Heroines and Heroes | 229 |
| Heroines: Picture Books | 229 |
| Heroines: Novels | 236 |
| Adventures with a Female Indiana Jones! | 236 |
| Heroes: Picture Books--Real Life Heroes | 249 |
| Anton Leeuwenhoek | 249 |
| Abraham Lincoln | 250 |
| Elijah McCoy | 250 |
| Bob Lemmons | 250 |
| Neil Armstrong | 252 |
| Heroes: Novels | 253 |
| Author/Title/Subject Index | 271 |