A variety of factors related to beginning reading in Sweden are considered in this paper. Among the topics discussed are the following: age of school entrance and beginning reading, factors related to school maturity and reading readiness, the importance of appropriate teaching techniques in the critical beginning stages of reading instruction, organizational steps taken in Sweden to further the individualization of reading instruction, the Swedish tradition of delaying reading instruction until the primary school, the importance of a good verbal environment in children's early years, goals of reading instruction, the need for a stress on meaning from the beginning of reading instruction, the use of combined methods of instruction in Sweden, the importance of teacher competence, and the teaching of immigrant children. Some research results on beginning reading are also described; these relate to factors associated with reading disabilities in the first grade, attempts to reduce cases of reading disability, and the teaching of reading to six-year-old children in preschool. The paper concludes by noting the need for cross-national comparative studies to aid in determining the most effective teaching methods and the most appropriate age for school entrance and for beginning reading instruction. (GT)