The use of children's literature as a central focus in teaching reading and writing, once considered a novelty, has become the norm in most elementary classrooms, Savage said, but widespread worries over a perceived decline in American students' basic skills have contributed to a renewed emphasis on phonics and grammar. I have put more phonics into my own material. But we ought not lose sight of literature, of the love of reading. Savage said his latest book responds to changing trends by paying increased attention to the teaching of skills in the course of reading story books. Literature provides the incentive.
Children love story books.
None of us is reluctant to do what we love. Savage, who is currently writing a new book on children's literature, said he particularly enjoys using folk and fairy tales in reading classes. These are stories that have been around for hundreds of years and people have loved them. How much more exciting that would be. Among more contemporary material, Savage prefers a book that appeals to the imagination, such as James and the Giant Peach or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , rather than a dry grammar primer.