A study investigating how disadvantaged parents interact with their children in literacy tasks probed the following questions: (1) what styles of interaction do young, welfare-recipient mothers display when reading a story book with their preschool-aged child? and (2) how do the styles relate to factors such as the child's age and mother's literacy level? The 290 mothers in the study ranged in age from 16 to 21 years old; the children were between the ages of 27 and 63 months. Mothers were provided with a copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and were asked to read the book to their child and take a few minutes to talk with him or her about it. Results showed that four distinct styles of book reading were displayed during the task: (1) straight readers, n=231, (who read the text aloud, but seldom paused to discuss the book during the actual reading); (2) standard interactive readers, n=231, (who paused during the reading and discussed the story); (3) non-readers, n=36, (who turned the pages and discussed the book, but did not actually read the book); and (4) recitation readers, n=9, (who asked their child to repeat the book back to them phrase by phrase). Interviews with the mothers showed that their choice of reading styles was governed by well-grounded assumptions about the reading process. In order for intervention reading programs to work, therefore, supervisors must have a clear understanding of a mother's assumptions and predispositions about literacy. Also, intervention programs need to treat mothers as learners about the role of book reading in literacy development and as active participants in creating a rich literacy environment for their children. Contains six references. (TB)