Originally published in 1982

This book charts the reading progress of ten children through their first three years at school, concentrating particularly on their problems and the ways they coped with them. The author uses these case studies to analyse the children''s understanding, experience of behaviour associated with literacy, and developing knowledge of spelling in the early stages of learning to read.

Her analysis of the children''s difficulties and successes, against the background of their home experience, classroom activities and teachers'' methods, calls in question any simplistic generalisations about the ways that background and teaching method can affect reading progress.