A study explored the development of emergent literacy among inner-city kindergarten children participating in a "read-at-home" program. The program focused on the enjoyment of reading, required minimal involvement from the classroom teacher, and encouraged parents to become involved in any way they wanted. Twenty-eight children, enrolled in two classes, each received a storybook to take home (and to keep) approximately every 2 weeks for 14 weeks. Emergent literacy was assessed from several perspectives: parental observation, classroom teacher observation, classroom behavior observed during book distribution, and emergent reading ability using E. Sulzby's Emergent Reading Ability Judgments Scale (ERAJ) and B. Otto's categories of assisted reading. Text complexity was varied between classes: one class received traditional storybooks/tradebooks, and the other received commercially developed books for beginning readers. The Read-at-Home program received positive evaluations from parents (88% reported their children used the books every day or several times a week) and the classroom teacher (who reported children's increasing interest, with children asking repeatedly when they would get their new books). Analysis of pre- and post-ERAJ scores indicated that 75% of the children read at a higher level at the end of the project. No children focused on the print during the preassessment; 10 of the 28 children were attempting to track print at postassessment. Text complexity appeared to influence the emergent reading ability levels of some children. (Two tables of data are included, and 22 references are attached. An appendix lists the books used in the program.) (Author/SR)