Stambaugh (special education, Vanderbilt U.) and VanTassel-Baska (education, College of William and Mary) outline a method developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary that improves reading comprehension skills in high-ability learners in grades seven through nine by moving them through ladders of an inquiry process from basic understanding to critical analyses of texts. After a guide to using the method, they present short stories, poetry, and biographies accompanied by sets of questions aligned with skills like sequencing, theme/concept, inference, literary elements, summarizing, and reflecting. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)