A cognitive-developmental approach to reading instruction for preschool children is presented in this document. Common misunderstandings about reading instruction are discussed, and examples of young children's reading readiness are used to illustrate how developmental readiness, self-motivation, and the influence of an appropriate learning environment supplant the need for countless hours in reading skill instruction. Traditional instructional methods are criticized for being developmentally inappropriate; the validity of the worksheet, drill, and skill method is questioned -- many functionally illiterate high school graduates are the result of those techniques. It is contended that children pass through various developmental levels as they become able to read and that these levels become the foundation whereby children form mental images of objects and experiences. (The first level lays a foundation for decoding. The second level involves manipulation of materials. The third level emerges as the child begins to use written and spoken language.) The teacher who uses formal methods of reading instruction is said to teach contrary to the child's developmental nature. (Author/DB)