This monograph brings together research that the author and his colleagues at the University of New England have been conducting into the early stages of reading development. It is written in an accessible style, with chapter summaries and, where appropriate, short tutorials in relevant topics - in particular, levels of language structure and writing systems. The book should be of interest to experimental psychologists concerned with the reading process, developmental psychologists interested in cognitive growth, educational psychologists interested in the application of experimental methods in the classroom stuation, teachers, and teacher educators.