As for counting pages, perhaps it would be more appropriate and less of a chore for teachers and/or librarians to assess a large body of reading material for children and assign titles to lists that are appropriate for certain age/grades. Thus the student reporting to her teacher that she read
Number the Stars need not be concerned with the number of pages in the book. This way, even if educators feel that the crucial thing is the number of words read, rather than a more sophisticated grasp of the art of literature, students will not be penalized for variances between editions.
There is probably some benefit to "enforced reading" even if the details of the accounting are irksome to already-literary families. I read voraciously in elementary school, but was rarely enthusiastic about the required reading in high school English class; I was much more enthusiastic about Tom Clancy, Arthur Conan Doyle or Frederick Forsyth than I was about Austen, Melville, Hawthorne or Steinbeck. (I remember being frequently amazed at the depth of thought that some students -- usually girls -- in my high school English classes displayed in discussions about reading assignments.) Had I never acquired a love for reading for pleasure, though, I would never have had the chance to develop an appreciation for more literary works later in life.
On the subject of reading matieral, by the way, has anyone else read
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon? I read this on vacation last week and loved it.
