This book looks at a broad sweep of books--from "little books" with patterned sentences to small illustrated chapter books. The book integrates discussions of nearly 200 different books, sorted along a gradient of difficulty, beginning with Reading Recovery levels and extending to a framework for evaluating more complex texts, the challenges and supports they provide teachers, and the responses of readers to those books. Along the way, the book answers such questions as: What exactly makes a book easy or difficult for new readers? How do you select the right book for the right child at the right time? and Besides readability levels, what other factors must be considered? Chapters in the book are: (1) Literature, Readers, and Text Complexity--An Inseparable Trio; (2) Understanding Text Complexity in Books for New Readers; (3) Sorting Books along a Gradient of Difficulty: Starting the Conversational Dance; (4) Little Books for Emergent Readers; (5) Small Chapter Books for Transitional Readers; (6) Literary Genres for Proficient Readers; and (7) Extending Literary Pathways. Contains a list of 72 professional references and an extensive bibliography of children's literature. Appended is information on literary partners for extending literary pathways and picture books for emergent readers. (NKA)