ABSTRACT
The interest of researchers and practitioners in the role played by texts in children’s growth as readers is focused upon the way in which, in a literary text, ‘the whole fabric of illusory events takes its appearance and emotional value from the way the sentences flow, stop, repeat, stand alone’ (Langer, 1953: 44). The attention to the texts we give to children, especially in the early stages of reading, builds upon two assumptions. First, that texts do teach important lessons about reading. Second, that there is a developmental perspective to the interactions between readers and texts. These assumptions have given rise to shifts both in our theories of reading and in pedagogy. The serious consideration of texts has given rise to radical reconsiderations of what reading actually involves and how it connects with children’s lives.
