This nontechnical guide for parents and teachers examines learning to read from infants' babbling to the fluent reading of children reading independently for pleasure. Chapter 1, "Baby Speaks," describes language development in infancy. Chapter 2, "Our Alphabet: Language by Ear and by Eye," presents the alphabetic system and describes games to increase preschool children's self-consciousness about phonemes. Chapter 3, "Preparing Your Child to Read," describes reading readiness activities, noting the impact of perceptual-motor and sensory development. Chapter 4, "Slow Reading: Phonics and Decoding," presents the phonic approach to reading as a transitional phase in learning to read with fluency and comprehension. Chapter 5, "The Child's Reading System," identifies reading readiness as a product of brain maturation, differentiates dyslexia and hyperlexia, and focuses on featural encoding. Chapter 6, "Reading Is Understanding," discusses the relationship between the reading system and intelligence, noting the importance of immersion in multi-modal language experiences. Chapter 7, "First Grade Rubicon: Ten Important Tips," suggests reading goals and activities. Chapter 8, "Each Child Is Unique," illustrates general parameters for dealing with children with reading problems through vignettes. Chapter 9, "Whole Language: Caution," critiques the whole language approach. Chapter 10, "Reading Recovery: Working at Success," describes the reading recovery process. Chapter 11, "Writing," discusses the relationship of writing to reading and speech and spelling development. Chapter 12, "The School Program," reiterates reading fluency stages and describes developmental reading approaches. Chapter 13, "What Parents Can Do," describes how parents can be educational partners in teaching reading. Contains 22 pages of references. (KDFB)