Read junk. It's good for you: Dispelling the myths surrounding quality literature, comic books, series books and bestsellers

The huge controversy over "appropriate reading material" for children has been brewing for over a century. Young readers, enticed by the pleasurable experiences of reading "junk" material, have been unwillingly thrust toward "quality" literature by "guardians of good taste." Widely divergent definitions of quality literature are mostly based on opinion.; Comic books enjoy a long rich history that dates to prehistoric times. In 1954, Fredric Wertham, delivered a devastating blow to the industry in his book, Seduction of the Innocent. Based on "guilt by association," Wertham alleged that comics were the major cause of juvenile delinquency and contributed to children's reading problems, crime, drug addiction, violence and psychopathic tendencies.; Comic book reading is not harmful for literacy development. Research studies support the following: Comics are a conduit to other reading, good readers read and have read comics, there's a positive relationship between the amount of comic reading and reading enjoyment, illustrations facilitate comprehension of text, comics are complex and can be considered "quality" literature.; Two new studies are presented. The first study is a secondary statistical reanalysis of a study by Nilsen, et al. (1980) to determine whether and to what extent acclaimed and well-liked books differed in popularity. The results of the statistical reanalysis confirmed that adult judgments of quality differ from children's tastes. The second study examined the total library inventory in Southern California for award winners and popular books. Far more bestsellers were checked out than award winners. Bestsellers have a slightly higher reading level than award winners---children are not selecting easy books for their recreational reading. Additionally, there was evidence that librarians are ordering fewer award winners than bestsellers.; The popularity of series books continues. Research supports the following benefits of reading series books: Series books provide extensive reading, those who have developed high levels of literacy give series books credit for aiding their development, series books help readers develop reading proficiency through exposure to comprehensible text, and there is an intellectual satisfaction in reading series books.