'This book is an excellent introduction to the kinds of fiction that appeal to school-age children, adolescents, and adults. It provides a rich and provocative as well as informative view of the why and what of experiencing fiction by readers of different ages. It introduces the basic ideas, assumptions, and themes in literary interpretation and criticism. It portrays the kinds of characters and stories that are recurrent in formulaic romance and adventure that appeal to all ages in different forms. As a basic primer on literature and literary experiences of children and adults, it is highly recommended.' American Journal of Psychology
' ... a lucid and useful book on the way reading fiction helps us construct and enlarge our personal and social identities.' America
'Happily, Appleyard is in the 'grip' of neither Frye nor anyone else. Like his pragmatically conceived adult reader, Appleyard uses Frye's Anatomy because it works. He manages to hold aloft at once a number of theories, examining and extracting the best and most sensible ideas before moving on.' Book Reviews
"...an excellent introduction to the kinds of fiction that appeal to school-age children, adolescents, and adults. It provides a rich and provocative as well as informative view of the why and what of experiencing fiction by readers of different ages. It introduces the basic ideas, assumptions, and themes in literary interpretation and criticism. It portrays the kinds of characters and stories that are recurrent in formulaic romance and adventure that appeal to all ages in different forms. As a basic primer on literature and literary experiences of children and adults, it is highly recommended." Thomas Trabasso, American Journal of Psychology
"...a thoroughly remarkable book examining the process of reading from a developmental perspective all the way from early childhood to adulthood....the whole tone of this book is one of patient, intelligent, encouraging fruitful inquiry into why people read the way they do, and what it means to read at all....If there is one book about the reading and teaching of literature that should be read by every teacher from kindergarten through college, this is it." R. Bruce Schauble, KLIATT
"...an adherent of no particular theoretical school, Appleyard has read widely among many competing schools of thought, asking questions about the interests, needs, skills, experience, and training of readers at different stages of life, all this in order to flesh out the hypothetical `reader' of current reader-oriented aesthetics. He manages to hold aloft at once a number of theories, examining and extracting the best and most sensible ideas before moving on." Dalhousie Review
"...an adherent of no particular theoretical school, Appleyard has read widely among many competing schools of thought, asking questions about the interests, needs, skills, experience, and training of readers at different stages of life, all this in order to flesh out the hypothetical `reader' of current reader-oriented aesthetics. He manages to hold aloft at once a number of theories, examining and extracting the best and most sensible ideas before moving on." Dalhousie Review
"...As a compendium of what fiction is or can be in our lives, this book is a rare achievement. Include it in your book circle, a seminar on teaching literature, and your backpack of things for solitary contemplation." Sam Sebesta, Journal of Reading
