Cynthia Lewis, Literacy practices as social acts: Power, status, and cultural norms in the classroom. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001, Pp. xi, 213, Hb $59.95, Pb $24.95 US.; Ludo Verhoeven & Catherine Snow (eds.), Literacy and motivation: Reading engagement in individuals and groups. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001. Pp. 326, Pb $39.95 Hb $79.95 US.

Extract

Literacy practices as social acts and Literacy and motivation share an interest in the question of what engages children in reading. Both are relevant to our political times, when the federal government micromanages literacy education in schools. The U.S. federal initiative “No Child Left Behind” gave rise to the Reading First grants, and both are designed to “get kids reading at grade level.” Reading First ended up not including “motivation” as a rationale for funding. The government's preoccupation with phonics instruction has superseded the more important issue of what makes a child want (or not want) to read in the first place. Literacy and motivation is a useful corrective. However, Cynthia Lewis's Literacy practices as social acts really gets at the heart of the matter.