Reading and elementary teachers alike will embrace Reading on Language & Literacy: Essays in Honor of Jeanne Chall. It is a well organized collection of essays that encompass the history of teaching reading, the research that has informed teaching practices, and how these practices are implemented. Jeanne Chall has had two major roles in the field of reading. She has been an active researcher and has been the inspiration behind the work of others. This book is an excellent testimony to her prominent role in the field of education. The first essay, "The Legacy of the Dartmouth Seminar" documents the historical significance that this seminar had in the field of literacy and education in the United States and the English speaking countries of the world. Through the hard work and efforts of the participants and those who valued their work, reading and literacy education as we know it today evolved. The second essay describes the Boston University and Chelsea Public School partnership. The authors describe the extensive collaboration between both faculties. The result was a co-teaching model using Title I and classroom teachers. Literacy instruction, classroom organization and literacy assessment were the principles that guided their work and research on these principles informed their instruction. In the third essay Wood Smethurst, Ed.D. describes how students who wish to succeed but don't in traditional high schools meet success at the Ben Franklin Academy. Mandatory work study programs and individualized mastery approaches are integral parts of the school's curriculum which is taught in a family-like atmosphere. Students are encouraged to make their own choices and take responsibility for their learning. Most of the students make dramatic gains. The fourth essay is a history of the teaching of reading. The teaching of letters, phonetics, phonemes, whole word, whole language and a combination of words, explicit systematic phonetic instruction and literature are explored. This is followed by an essay authored by Jeanne Paratore and Joy Turpie. They invite the reader into Joy's first grade classroom to view and see the merits of her literacy program which incorporates a flexible grouping model. This model enables her to meet the needs of individual readers. The sixth essay is devoted to the basics of reading: word identification, word meaning, and reading comprehension. The differences and similarities of teaching young children, adolescents and adults to read are addressed. The correlation between reading and listening ability is also clearly stated. This essay is followed by Lillian R. Putnam, Ed.D.'s research that measured the ability to make story predictions by four year olds, kindergartners and first graders. The value of using prediction when teaching reading is known. Children who have been read to make better story-ending predictions when they later read the same stories on their own because they are more aware of story elements. After conducting her study she recommends that the skill be practiced with kindergartners and first graders but not taught to four year olds. The eighth essay explores low income children, their language and connectives and their use in reading and writing. The study found that low income children, no matter what their ability, appeared to use a small number of connectives in their writing. The implications from this study are the need for vocabulary development, practice with the use of connectives and more practice reading and composing. Steven Stahl, Ph.D. discusses teaching children with reading problems how to recognize words. His essay is divided into three parts: the assumption that there is a need for special programs and curricular adaptations for these students; a review of the research concerning the need for special programs for teaching phonics; and a review of the effects of the University of Georgia's "not phonics" approach. He suggests a focused, systematic approach to phonics with repeated and assisted readings. His technique, called supported contextual reading, involves reading material to the student above his instructional level. Then through echo and repeated readings the child masters the material. He has documented dramatic results. This essay is followed by Edward Fry, Ph.D.. He collapsed many years worth of work into several pages. His "tool box for reading" is very useful. He offers many practical tips and tools for reading teachers of all experiences. The next few essays deal with assessment of reading abilities. The first one documents research concerning a deficit in naming speed and its implications for teaching and assessing reading. The researchers question suggest the importance of a double deficit in reading and naming speed. Research in other languages has substantiated this. The breakthroughs in neuroscience have a great impact on the teaching and assessment of reading. This is followed by assessing with trial lessons. One of the merits is that it offers insight into the level that a child can attain with guided assistance. The essays examine the importance of all the areas of reading, the age, the developmental level of the student, and the assessment instruments. From there Sandra Stotsky, Ph.D., examines the language in multicultural basals. She questions the worth of such language when teaching children to read in the English language. The vocabulary and story elements found in these basals are not challenging and the difficulty does not increase at a constant level. Thelast essay is a history of the English language and the first English language dictionary, a fitting way to end this book. This book is a compilation of the reading research that has occurred since the Dartmouth conference. The authors have explained how reading theory has evolved and how informed instruction has been implemented into the classroom. This book is a fine tribute to Jeanne Chall.