This collection of 20 papers addresses child development and early intervention issues related to literacy acquisition from a cross-cultural perspective. Titles of the papers are: (1) "Preparing Young Children for Literacy: Issues in Theory and Practice" (Lotty Eldering and Paul Leseman); (2) "Jomtien Revisited: A Plea for a Differentiated Approach" (John Bennett); (3) "Interaction of Context with Development: Theoretical Constructs for the Design of Early Childhood Education Programs" (Robert Serpell); (4) "Orientations on Culture: Some Comments on Intervention Programs" (Ype Poortinga); (5) "Interaction between Development Processes and Social-Cultural Context" (T. S. Saraswathi); (6) "Modification of Cognitive Components: Consequences for Early Intervention" (Fons van de Vijver); (7) "Many Kinds of Deprivation: Young Children and Their Families in South Africa" (Linda Richter); (8) "The Developmental Niche: Implications for Children's Literacy Development" (Sara Harkness and Charles Super); (9) "Linguistic Development as Related to Literacy" (Catherine Snow); (10) "How Parents Provide Young Children with Access to Literacy" (Paul Leseman); (11) "Literacy Development in a Multilingual Context" (Ludo Verhoeven); (12) "Responding to Children's Needs: Integrated Child Development Services in India" (Rajalakshmi Muralidharan and Venita Kaul); (13) "Empowerment of Parents: 'Proyecto Padres e Hijos' in Chile" (Johanne Filp and Ximena Valdes); (14) "Culture Sensitive Home Intervention: The Dutch HIPPY Experiment" (Lotty Eldering and Paul Vedder); (15) "A Model of Multipurpose Non-Formal Education: The Case of the Turkish Early Enrichment Project" (Cigdem Kagitcibasi); (16) "Success for All: Prevention and Early Intervention in Elementary Schools" (Robert Slavin and Nancy Madden); (17) "Critical Issues in the Evaluation of Preschool Intervention Programs" (Jan Slavenburg); (18) "Cooperative, Community-Based Evaluation of Preschool Programs" (Howard Richards and Loren Pierce); (19) "Researchers, Program Developers, and the Children Out There" (Nico van Oudenhoven); and (20) "Family, School, and Literacy: Recommendations for Intervention Programs." Most papers include a reference list. (MDM)