THE MULTIRACIAL, MULTICULTURAL DETROIT CITY SCHOOL SERIES PREPRIMERS, DEVELOPED FOR DISADVANTAGED PUPILS, HAVE CAREFULLY CHOSEN BASIC VOCABULARIES, HIGH INTEREST VALUE, AND BREVITY. WHEN THE NEW SERIES WAS COMPARED WITH A STANDARD ONE, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE CITY SERIES PROMOTED GREATER VERBAL COMPETENCE AND MORE DESIRE TO READ WAS MUCH MORE INTERESTING TO THE CHILDREN OF ALL SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS AND BOTH RACES, AND SEEMED TO HAVE A POSITIVE SOCIAL RELATIONS EFFECT. FURTHERMORE, TESTS BASED ON THESE NEW BOOKS SHOWED THAT NEGRO FIRST GRADERS SHOWED A "STRIKING" INCREASE IN VERBAL ABILITY. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN THE "EDUCATION DIGEST," VOLUME 29, P.26-29, FEBRUARY 1964. (NH)