Do young children have a sense of theme in the stories they read or hear? Can they talk about themes in books? Piaget believed that children below the age of 7 and 8 were incapable of critical thinking and Applebee that young children lack the ability to generate themes for narrative. In a series of studies of preschool, kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade children, Susan Lehr challenges these long-held views. She finds that children can and do talk about what they know, think, and perceive in the books they hear and read.