The Bradford Book Flood--an experiment in which large numbers of additional books were made available to middle school children in England to see whether easy access to books improved reading skills and developed a taste for reading--is detailed in this book. The first chapter discusses the purpose and methodology of the experiment, while the second provides details of the two inner city and two outer city schools involved. The third chapter describes the use of the reading record form to monitor reading habits; the fourth discusses the case studies of the children, including the sampling and methodology; and the fifth describes the similarities in home backgrounds, including upbringing and personalities, among the avid readers as a group and among the infrequent readers as a group. The last two chapters contain the results of the tests that indicate four main factors affecting whether children became infrequent or avid readers: (1) the roles of the head teacher and the teacher; (2) the way the books are arranged, displayed, and made accessible; (3) the influence of friends and families; and (4) sociological factors, such as size of family, interests, and living conditions. The appendixes contain testing data (including reading record forms), statistical data, and a list of favorite authors and titles. (EL)