Six eclectic basal readers were evaluated to determine what basal readiness programs are teaching kindergarten and early first grade children. Each lesson was analyzed to discover the main purpose of instruction as stated in an objective or skill and the actual requirements placed upon the child during instruction. Using the recommendations from "Becoming a Nation of Readers" (Anderson, 1984), lessons and objectives were categorized as either positive program aspects--oral language and listening, letter recognition, sound/symbol association and sight vocabulary, and writing experiences--or negative aspects--fine motor skills; colors, shapes, and numbers; excessive handwriting; and perceptual training. Analysis revealed that while some series included only a few or no negative program aspects, they had overemphasized one aspect, especially letter recognition and sound/symbol associations. All programs lacked a balance among positive aspects. The following recommendations are based on this analysis: (1) basal reading readiness programs should include writing experiences, (2) oral language activities should be used to a larger degree, (3) listening comprehension development should be a major part of reading readiness programs, and (4) metalanguage should be taught through such informal methods as labeling objects in the classroom and continually exposing children to print. (HOD)