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The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy. Standards keep going up for students in reading achievement. Literature books for children must be rewritten in keeping up with the times in a demanding school and societal environment. Children need to be motivated to read increasingly challenging reading materials. Authors of children's books must keep in mind that today's children are more sophisticated than before. To assist students in their reading achievement: the school library needs to have many and diverse books; quality sequence in reading materials must be in evidence; it should be remembered that students have diverse purposes in reading and that student purposes in reading need careful consideration; and meaningful reading materials need to be in the offing. This paper also discusses the following: different approaches to teaching literacy; bibliotherapy in literature; and the computer and children's literature. The paper notes that for students to reach higher expectations, they need to be challenged and motivated, not forced to achieve at a higher level. (Contains 10 references.) (NKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document