A study investigated low-income children's book reading experiences with their mothers and in group reading in preschool when the children were 3 and 4 years old. At the age of 3 years, the primary focus of book readings in both settings was immediate information. Mothers were significantly more likely than teachers to use extending comments, and were less likely to use organizational comments. When children were 4 years old, talk in the home was dominated by immediate talk. There was less extending talk, less total talk by mothers, and more extending comments by children than at age 3. Talk in school included more extending and total talk by teachers and more non-immediate utterances by children. Home-school comparison found school book readings contained more non-immediate talk by teachers and children and more extending, organizational, and total talk by teachers. The great variability of patterns in both settings indicates the presence of multiple patterns of home-school linkage between classrooms and among families in a single classroom. (Author/BB)