This two-part paper emphasizes the importance of language enrichment and active listening skills as a basis for reading pleasure. While acknowledging the need for developing fundamental decoding skills, the first section advocates that adults read aloud to children from books reflecting the adult's reading interests, containing creative language, and exposing the child to some of the universal themes of literature. Several significant children's books are discussed to illustrate methods for enriching the child's reading experience in this manner. Exercises in listening skill development comprise the second portion of the paper. These aim at developing reading comprehension through listening to words, both individually and in context, and by hearing a whole sentence as a complete unit of meaning. (MAI)