ABSTRACT

Since the late 1980s there has been a dramatic increase in interest in literature-based reading instruction in elementary classrooms. There are a number of factors that have contributed to this shift toward inclusion of literature in the reading curriculum, including the availability of high-quality children's literature (Cullinan, 1989), the popularity of the whole-language movement (Fisher & Hiebert, 1990; Goodman, 1989), and the prominence of reader-response theory (Iser, 1980; Bleich, 1978; McGee, 1992; Rosenblatt, 1978). In this review of the research on literature-based reading instruction we first explore the historical roots of this movement, the predominant theory on which it is based, and descriptive features of literature-based instruction. We then examine research on literature-based reading instruction related to storybook reading with young children and literature-based instruction in classroom settings. We conclude with implications for theory, practice, policy, and future research.