This book was written to provide educators with a resource guidebook for training parents to become the most effective partners in their childrenís reading development as possible. The training of parents is accomplished through a series of workshops conducted by educators. The model presented was designed for primary level children, particularly "at-risk" students, and their parents, but framed so as to allow modifications that enhance adaptation to a variety of settings. I feel that the framework and resources provided by this book are best suited for reading teachers at the primary level. As with all of the resources we collect for our educator toolbox, certain ideas and strategies contained in this book are readily applicable to other settings, I also feel that this resource could be appropriate for some ESL programs.

The writers of this book have based their workshops upon the successful guided reading program in their district; components of this program emphasize and support classroom-based assessment. Increasing the knowledge and understanding levels of parents regarding the developmental stages of reading coupled with strategies to use at home is essential for the success of young readers. The benefits of maintaining clear channels of communication about students with the home are well worth the labor of such maintenance, "Once parents understood how they were being taught in school, they relaxed and were open to new ideas." (Page 7)

Golden Lines:

"Educators must take the initiative to improve communication and provide parents with the tools necessary to accelerate their childrenís progress." (Page 1)

"Children progress at their own pace and should not be rushed or compared with other children." (Page 13)

"Too often, childrenís reading is interrupted for meaningless word errors because adults think that reading needs to be perfectÖThrough our program, parents learn that childrenís reading should seldom be interrupted, and readers need to be given the opportunity to self-correct their own errors using strategies appropriate to their reading level." (Page 27)