Intended to provide practical amd proven ideas to help children develop as literate persons, this book presents 24 essays on diverse topics to help teachers and parents realize the potential they have for improving children's literacy development. The ideas presented in the book are based on sound research, theory, and actual practice. After an introduction ("Teacher-Parent Partnerships" by Timothy Rasinski), chapters in the book are: (1) "Seven Steps to Creating a Literate Home Environment" (Mary Steele Mastain); (2) "About Play, Literacy, and Growing Up" (Kathy Roskos); (3) "Storytelling Connections: Ways to Catch Children's Imaginations and Excite Them about Learning" (Olga Nelson); (4) "Children Never Outgrow 'Read Me another...'" (Karla Hawkins Wendelin); (5) "It's Not Just What You Do but How You Do It That Counts" (David F. Lancy); (6) "Hundreds of Books, Thousands of Books...Finding Good Books for Eager Readers" (Barbara Peterson); (7) "Linking Children to the Past through Historical Fiction" (Susan S. Lehr); (8) "Paired Reading: A Positive Approach to Parent-Child Reading Time" (Louisa Kozey); (9) "Reading Aloud to Older, Independent Readers" (Daniel Woolsey); (10) "Becoming Readers and Writers Together" (JoBeth Allen); (11) "Demystify the Written Word and Make Writing a Lifelong Adventure" (Sally Hudson-Ross); (12) "The Role of Lists in Family Literacy" (Nancy Padak and Timothy Rasinski); (13) "Helping Develop Competent Spellers: Parents and Children Working Together" (Jerry Zutell); (14) "Using Computers to Promote Literacy" (Linda DeGroff); (15)"Television and Literacy" (David Reinking and Douglas Pardon); (16) "Understanding Changes in Beginning Reading (and Writing) Instruction" (Susan Carey Biggam); (17) "Nurturing Children's Literacy Development through Parent-Teacher Conferences" (Anthony D. Fredericks); (18) "Literacy Is for All Languages: Building Literacy in Nonnative English-Speaking Homes" (Sally Nathenson-Mejia); (19) "Reading, Writing, and Giftedness" (Beverly Shaklee); (20) "Parent Volunteers: Partners in Literacy" (Elizabeth Gibbons Pryor); (21) "The Problems and Promises of Dealing with Principals" (Fredrick R. Burton); (22) "Reading Instruction in the Intermediate Grades: Preferred Practices" (Karen D. Wood and Robert J. Rickelman); (23) "Parental Roles in Reading and Writing Evaluation" (Jan Turbill and JoBeth Allen); and (24) "Parents and Schools Assessing Literacy Growth Together" (J. Michael Ritty). (RS)