While many books of the time explored pedagogical, psychological, and linguistics perspectives of children’s writing, Reading Children’s Writing (originally published in 1986) takes a fresh and innovative approach by examining text-organizational methods of analysis.

The book considers ‘whole texts’ produced by children of either top junior or lower secondary age—a time of transition which involves them in significant changes of writing styles. Here the authors consider the organizational features of narrative and non-narrative writing; the use of vocabulary; and the evaluation of children’s work.

The volume provides a useful and interesting insight into the methods of describing, evaluating, and developing children’s writing ability. It will be a beneficial read for teachers at primary and secondary level, and for linguists concerned with language in education.