AN UNFORTUNATE DISTRACTION - THE REAL BOOKS DEBATE, 10 YEARS ON

This paper re-examines some aspects of the 'real books-reading scheme books' debate which erupted into the British literacy education field re decade ago. It argues that the debate was nor only over-polarised b ut that it did not take appropriate account of a scholarly review of r elated research by Professor Jeanne Chall which had been published a f ew years earlier. Subsequent research has further supported Chall's ar guments. The paper indicates how the use of reading scheme and real bo oks can be reconciled in curriculum programmes which are sensitive to how learning needs change in the course of early literacy development. It also notes the related significance of some current developments i n the field, such as the National Literacy Project and the Literacy Ta sk Force.