Developed as a vehicle of communication for the Reading Recovery Council of North America, this journal represents an international effort to connect researchers, teachers, and all those interested in early literacy. Articles in the first issue of this second volume are: "Oral Language: Assessment and Development in Reading Recovery in the United States" (Lance M. Gentile); "'But I Just Want to Teach Regular Kids!' Understanding Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Children Experiencing Difficulty Learning to Read" (Susan L. Nierstheimer, Carol J. Hopkins and Maribeth Cassidy Schmitt); and "Success of Old Order Amish Children in a Strategy-Oriented Program for Children At Risk of Failure in Reading" (Joseph F. Yukish and John W. Fraas). It also contains articles reprinted from other sources: "Learning Disabilities: A Barrier to Literacy Instruction" (Richard Long); "Helping Low-Achieving First-Grade Readers: A Program Combining Reading Recovery Tutoring and Small-Group Instruction" (Linda Dorn and Anne Allen); and "Reading Recovery and Children with English as a Second Language" (Pauline E. Smith). Articles in the second issue are: "Phonics and Politics: 'Sounding Out' the Consequences" (Noel K. Jones); "A Vygotskian Perspective on Literacy Acquisition: Talk and Action in the Child's Construction of Literate Awareness" (Linda Dorn); "A New National Alliance: Special Education and Reading Recovery" (David J. Moriarty); "Early Intervention in Children with Reading Difficulties: An Evaluation of Reading Recovery and a Phonological Training" (Kathy Sylva and Jane Hurry); "The Mischief of the Lost Lesson: An Analysis of the Sources of Discontinuity in Reading Recovery Services" (Lee Skandalaris and Frederica C. Frost); "Pedagogical Reasoning: Understanding Teacher Decision Making in a Cognitive Apprenticeship Setting" (Cynthia B. Elliot); and "First and Second Round Reading Recovery: What Difference Does It Make for Discontinuation and Program Length?" (Anne K. Rhodes-Kline). (RS)