Over the years, elementary literacy programmes have evolved from textbooks, skill-based instructional programmes into literature-based, process-oriented, whole language programmes . This has meant that teachers must choose materials that will meet their instructional goals and, at the same time, motivate their students to read and write. For most teachers and schools, the choice of children’s literature is very much influenced by the syllabus and the national curriculum. This choice of children’s literature usually includes fiction and nonfiction books that play a variety of roles in the reading and writing lessons. Unfortunately, these books may not be of the students’ interest and thus may undermine the overall goal of literacy instruction which is not only to develop capable readers but also readers who are motivated to read for the sake of reading.
This project aims at identifying children’s choices of books, the literary qualities and book characteristics that influence children’s choices of books for independent reading.