National attention is focused on early literacy, as several panels investigate and debate new directions in teaching children to read and write. This booklet reviews selected research recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development as a sound basis for designing literacy programs and particular intervention programs to help struggling readers. The booklet discusses how Reading Recovery epitomizes the 10 principles in literacy programs that work and states that the power of Reading Recovery lies in the integration of the 10 research-based components and the careful, sensitive application of these components during a Reading Recovery lesson. It presents a chart which summarizes these 10 principles that this research suggests are essential for intervention programs and lists supporting research, as well as components and teaching procedures characteristic of Reading Recovery, for each of the 10 principles. Contains 2 tables and 89 references. (NKA)