This is a book about how young children learn to do things with written language. It examines their emerging skills with written language in the early years of their lives. It looks at their learning and development in homes and communities, in early childhood settings and over the transition to school. The book seeks to understand the processes of this learning; to understand what children and their families do with written language, what living in different communities means for literacy, and the part families, communities, and educational settings play in development.