Children are ready to learn to read when they are young and enjoy learning to read when they understand each step in the reading process, so that their cognitive growth is significatnly stimulated. This book presents the structural approach to teaching both reading readiness skills and reading and points out that teachers and parents must understand the total learning-to-read process in order to know which games or activities develop reading readiness. The structural approach emphasizes the understanding of the actual structure of the spoken word--later, the written word--and teaches the correspondence between sounds and letters according to a carefully graded systematic sequence which enables children to figure out words on their own. Chapters discuss learning through insight; the natural readers; whether all children should start early; an argument against teaching the alphabet; the foundations provided by toys, play, and reading aloud; readiness games for three-year-olds and four-year-olds; discovering letters as recorded sounds; setting the stage for reading; alternatives to parent teaching; and a plea for early intervention. Seven appendixes containing related materials, a bibliography for parents, and lists of books and magazines conclude the book. (JM)