This issue describes the state of reading and literacy in the United States from kindergarten into adulthood. Data from a number of sources make it possible to draw a picture of literacy at all educational levels. The most striking and troubling observation is the wide differentials between racial and ethnic groups, beginning in kindergarten and continuing through school and into adulthood. With the strong associations between literacy and success in the economy, reducing these differentials becomes critical in equalizing opportunity. In international terms, the performance of U.S. students is about average, or mediocre, but the United States is the most unequal of the tested countries, with a wider spread in literacy proficiency than the other developed countries assessed. It is as important to reduce the variability as it is to increase the average. School-based reading proficiency and adult literacy proficiency are not the same; reading to know is not the same as reading to do. Reading to do, however, is rewarded in the labor market. The high priority assigned to reading at the beginning of this decade is altogether warranted. Thirteen selected resources on literacy are described. (SLD)