For teachers of language arts and other related subjects, Boyd (learning and instruction, U. of Buffalo, State U. of New York) and Galda (curriculum and instruction, U. of Minnesota) examine the unscripted talk of four elementary teachers who use literature to connect students' personal experience and exploration with academic expectations and engage them in classroom talk in a variety of settings. They describe the theoretical and research bases for real talk, and using transcripts, interviews, lesson plans, literacy artifacts, and field notes, provide examples of teaching practices related to collaborative talk about books; inspiring the language and content learning of English language learners; reading aloud; and teaching crochet, which led to student problem solving, the development of a classroom community, and opportunities for literacy activities. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)