Home literacy practices are extremely important in developing early language and literacy skills. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds may be at risk, not because their family literacy practices are inferior, but because their culturally defined literacy practices may not be consistent with school literacy expectations. To better understand the influence of family literacy, more research is needed on home literacy practices to maximize the literacy experiences of all children and to strengthen the home and school literacy connections. This qualitative investigation explores the early literacy events practiced by three low SES mothers and their preschoolers. Drawing on traditions of ethnography, mothers and their preschoolers were interviewed and audio recorded during shared reading interactions at home using familiar and unfamiliar picture storybooks. The interviews and shared reading transcripts revealed several practices that promote literacy development in young children; practices on which schools and teachers can build.