A survey of adult active readers showed that those learning to read before starting school were influenced by parents who read to them, who read themselves for enjoyment, or who owned many books. The public library was also a critical influence. Classroom teachers can have more influence on their students' reading habits by showing that they themselves are active readers. Teacher strategies that will improve student reading interests are as follows: (1) help improve the school library and acquaint students with it; (2) enlist people with high "child appeal" to advertise reading to children and introduce students to the newspaper; (3) encourage students to keep track of their current reading interests on a classroom graph; (4) encourage students to predict future interests based on the graph; (5) acquaint students with new authors and illustrators; (6) look into literature in translation; (7) watch for books receiving literary awards; (8) watch for books receiving awards for illustrations; (9) keep children immersed in the books they find enjoyable and readable; (10) have children suggest books they would take with them on special trips, introduce titles that follow the same vein as a favorite book, and introduce poetry by candlelight to ensure pleasant literary memories; and (11) allow time for creative writing activities so that students gain a heightened appreciation of the written word. (HTH)