Three basal reading series, levels kindergarten through grade three, were studied to categorize the types of literature each contained. The following series were analyzed: "The Headway Program" (Open Court Publishing Company), "Series r Macmillan Reading," and "Basics in Reading" (Scott, Foresman and Company). It was hypothesized that basal readers contain insufficient amounts of "good literature," which was defined as quality literature that could be classified into categories determined by experts in the field of children's literature: (1) poetry and verse, (2) picture stories, (3) folk tales, (4) fairy tales, (5) myths, (6) fables and legends, (7) fantasy, (8) history, (9) realism, and (10) informational literature. Stories in the readers were classified according to these categories. An analysis of the results indicated that both the Macmillan and the Scott, Foresman series were found to provide insufficient amounts and variety of quality literature which could be classified into categories determined by experts in the field of children's literature. Open Court's series provided the greatest variety, although it was less than acceptable in some categories. The findings suggest that more research is necessary to improve the quality and content of basal readers. (References are included. An extensive listing of the contents of each textbook examined is appended.) (SKC)