The preschool years ages 3 and 4 are extremely important for social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of preschool to heighten awareness and inform administrators, educators, families, and policymakers about the value of preschool and in particular preschool literacy development. In this paper evidence demonstrating the importance of language and literacy development is discussed based on research that has followed children who participated in preschool programs throughout the grades into adult life. The results show that children who attended high quality preschool were more likely to graduate from elementary and high school, live healthier lives, have fewer social problems, earn more money than those who had not attended preschool, and have children who are likely to succeed. The country is becoming aware of the importance of preschool with standards and content guidelines for language and literacy preschool programs. A section of this article is devoted to the importance of preschool for "at risk" children. In addition, the need for excellent teacher preparation and continued professional development is discussed. Family involvement is recognized as crucial in the preschool program. The article ends with recommendations for steps preschool teachers, early childhood and elementary educators, public school boards, teacher educators, parents, and policymakers can take to make universal preschool a reality.