Wilhelm et al., who help students use literacy to become active citizens, show educators how to teach the composition and reading of various types of informational texts (one of the three major types of texts designated by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)). They explain what informative/explanatory texts are and their real-world purposes, structures, and how to prepare students to meet the demands of the CCSS for college, careers, and citizenship through a structured process of conceptual inquiry. They outline five kinds of knowledge and composing needed, the structures of informational texts and the importance of instructional specificity, how to make composing and reading these texts matter in the context of inquiry units, and processes of teaching each kind of structure. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)