The Children's Art Carnival (CAC) Creative Reading Program, a community arts and educational organization, combines instruction in reading with art activities. Operating in sites in Manhattan and Queens, New York, the program served 294 second to sixth grade students during the 1986-1987 school year. Students who scored poorly on the Degrees of Reading Power Test or the Metropolitan Achievement Test, many of whom came from troubled homes, were given the opportunity to improve their reading and writing skills in the CAC program by learning the vocabulary of art, listening to stories and talking about characters, and working on art projects related to the stories. Student achievement in reading generally exceeded levels set as indicative of program success, with 88% of the second graders and 92% of the students in grades three to six mastering at least three new skills on the McGraw-Hill Prescriptive Reading Inventory; and a high percentage of students in dual-cycle classes, as well as grade three and four single-cycle classes, mastering five or more new skills. Student achievement in writing also exceeded targeted goals, with over 50% of students in the program improving their proficiency. Finally, student achievement on the art vocabulary test exceeded criteria for program success. (Ten tables of data, sample tests, criteria, and questionnaires are included.) (ARH)