Literature for the gifted, a gateway to greatness: Imagination illuminates reality -- Inspired writers -- Books to add zest -- Books as experience -- Traits and needs of gifted children -- Picture books for gifted programs: The need to belong -- The need to achieve and feel self-esteem -- The need for beauty, order, and harmony -- The need to cope with stress -- The need for laughter, nonsense, and expanded vocabulary -- The need to know and extend developing concepts -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, animal families -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, community helpers -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, Africa -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, rocks -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, robots -- The need to know and extend developing concepts, earthwatch -- Favorite picture and poetry books of the 1990s. Exercising the imagination, fairy tales and fantasy: Reading the world with folktales, China -- More tales from China -- Reading the world with folktales, South Africa -- Reading the world with folktales, Great Britain and Switzerland -- Reading the world with folktales, Mexico -- Reading the world with folktales, Peru -- Reading the world with folktales, Russia -- Reading the world with folktales, Australia -- Folktales in U.S. studies -- Fantasy -- The classics and poetry: Activities to improve skills through classic literature: Creative thinking -- Critical thinking -- Vocabulary -- Problem solving -- Imaging -- Observation -- Activities for classics -- Children's classics: Robert Louis Stevenson -- Jules Verne -- Howard Pyle -- Johann Wyss -- Mark Twain -- Jack London -- Washington Irving -- Rudyard Kipling -- Kenneth Grahame -- James Barrie -- Daniel Defoe -- Johanna Spyri -- Introducing Shakespeare: "Romeo and Juliet" -- A vocabulary contest -- Reviewing Shakespeare with karaoke -- Ocean voyages, a thematic unit blending the classics and contemporary literature. Exploring diversity: A picture book for all ages -- Native American folklore, picture book -- Native American folktales, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky -- Native Americans, novel -- Native Americans today, novels -- African-Americans, picture book -- More picture books to read -- Reconciling differences, novel -- African-Americans, novel -- The African-American hero, novel -- Hispanic folktales, picture books -- Hispanic Americans, picture books -- Hispanic Americans, novels -- Hispanic literature, novel -- Asian-Americans, picture books -- Asian literature -- Clash of cultures -- Asian-Americans: The new immigrants, early 1900s -- The World War II internment and release of Japanese-Americans, 1940s -- Immigrants from Cambodia, 1980s -- Learning from the past: The middle ages -- U.S. history -- World War II -- Heroines and heroes: Heroines, picture books-- Heroines, novels -- Heroes, picture books, real-life heroes: Anton Leeuwenhoek -- Abraham Lincoln -- Elijah McCoy -- Bob Lemmons -- Neil Armstrong -- Heroes, novels.