This book brings together accounts of educators who have sought to make a difference in the lives of their students through literacy education--from university classrooms in the United States, England, and South Africa, to policy and curriculum development in Singapore and Australia. The literacy classrooms explored in the book range from the early years of schooling, to primary and secondary education, to community and university sites. An overarching theme of the book is the belief that there is no one generic, universal critical literacy--in theory or in practice. Under Part 1 (Critical from the Start: Examining Relations of Power in Textual Practices) are the following essays: "Relational Sense and Textual Sense in a U.S. Urban Classroom: The Contested Case of Emily, Girl Friend of a Ninja" (A. H. Dyson); "Children Appropriating Literacy: Empowerment Pedagogy from Young Children's Perspective" (U. Sahni); "Children Reading Critically: A Local History" (J. O'Brien); and "Constructing a Critical Curriculum with Young Children" (V. Vasquez). Under Part 2 (Exploring Critical Literacies in Primary Schooling: Unresolved Questions) are these essays: "From Prescription to Participation: Moving from Functional to Critical Literacy in Singapore" (Y. M. Cheah); "Resistance and Creativity in English Reading Lessons in Hong Kong" (A. M. Y. Lin); "On the Road to Cultural Bias: A Critique of 'The Oregon Trail' CDROM" (B. Bigelow); and "Teaching Readings?" (B. Mellor and A. Patterson). Under Part 3 (Critical Literacies and Questions of Identity) are these essays:"Identity and Conflict in the Critical Literacy Classroom" (H. Janks); "Classrooms as Sites of Textual, Cultural, and Linguistic Reappropriation" (P. Stein); "'Dickheads, Wusses, and Faggots': Addressing Issues of Masculinity and Homophobia in the Critical Literacy Classroom" (W. Martino); and "Ta(l)king Back: Dialogizing Authorship" (L. Cruddas and P. Watson). Under Part 4 (Tertiary Education as a Site for Critical Literacies) are these essays: "Critical Literacy in the Second Language Classroom: Power and Control" (C. Wallace); "Building Bridges/Making Meanings: Texts of Popular Culture and Critical Pedagogy in Theory and Practice" (J. W. Bell); "Responding to Academic Discourse: Developing Critical Literacy at a South African University" (J. Clarence-Fincham); "Tensions and Ambiguities in Critical Literacy" (N. Wooldridge); and "Critical Literacies and Local Action: Teacher Knowledge and a 'New' Research Agenda" (B. Comber). (NKA)