Storybridge to Second Language Literacy makes a case for using authentic children's literature- alternately also referred to as 'stories' or 'real books'-as the medium of instruction in teaching English to young learners, particularly in contexts where children must access general curriculum subjects in English. The author first proposes theoretical foundations for the argument that illustrated children's books are superior to traditional language teaching courses in the primary school. She builds the case around the motivational power of stories, the language and content of quality children's literature, and the potential of literature to contribute to development of second language academic literacy. She then reviews research of the past thirty years that clearly supports her claim. Finally, she uses transcripts from real classrooms to illustrate how teachers in diverse contexts make use of stories. Through the classroom vignettes, a practical model of literature-based instruction...