This book is about defining, establishing, and sustaining a literacy community in a seventh-grade reading classroom. The book examines this particular literacy community, its meaning making, and the power structures within the community--providing educators with insights they can apply in their own classrooms. It is based on a 4-year examination, by the teacher/author and her students, of their literacy practices as they developed a community of learners who read, questioned, talked, performed, wrote, and visually represented their meaning making and their lives together. Chapters in the book are: (1) The Literacy Community; (2) Defining Ourselves--Revealing the Literacies inside Us; (3) Transacting with Text; (4) The Power of Talk; (5) Living the Meanings through Performance; (6) The Power of Writing; and (7) The Power of Visual Representation. Includes student work samples, lists of recommended readings and resources, assessment and evaluation suggestions, and 21 appendixes. Lists 63 titles of literature used. (Contains 76 references.) (NKA)