This book suggests that learning to read should be a right for all children. From this viewpoint, the book constructs a bridge between current knowledge of reading processes and educational practice by incorporating a comprehensive range of theory, practice, and research, and a solid foundation in education and psychological science. Topics covered include: the centrality of literacy to school success; writing systems as a springboard to reading; the nature of reading disabilities; the implementation of new literacy programs; ways of fostering reading comprehension; contemporary approaches to assessment; and suggestions for some common ground for those with holistic and traditional views. Articles in the book are: "The Continuing Quest toward Literacy for All Children" (M.F. Graves); "Literacy and Learning" (E.L. Boyer); "Creating and Sustaining a Love of Literature...And the Ability to Read It" (E.H. Hiebert); "What It Means to Learn to Read" (C.A. Perfetti and S. Zhang); "Looking beyond Ourselves to Help All Children Learn to Read" (B.M. Taylor); "Literature-Based Curricula in High-Poverty Schools" (R. Allington and others); "Questioning the Author: An Approach to Developing Meaningful Classroom Discourse" (M.G. McKeown and others); "Howling in the Wind: Academics Try to Change Classroom Reading Instruction" (S.J. Samuels); "Preventing and Remediating Reading Disabilities: Instructional Variables That Make a Difference for Special Students" (J.K. Torgeson and S.A. Hecht); "How Do Children Understand What They Read and What Can We Do to Help Them?" (T. Trabasso and J.P. Magliano); "On Becoming Literate: The Many Sources of Success and Failure in Reading" (P. van den Broek); "Improving the Literacy Achievement of Low-Income Students of Diverse Backgrounds" (K.H. Au and C.L. Asam); "Assessing Critical Literacy: Tools and Techniques" (R. Calfee); "Improving Literacy Instruction and Assessment for All Children" (S.M. Watts); and "Reclaiming the Center" (P.D. Pearson). (NKA)