Word-level reading and spelling skills support reading comprehension and writing composition. Accurate and fluent word-level reading and spelling are facilitated when individuals have clear mental orthographic representations (MOR) that permit them to quickly recognize and recall the visual representation of a word, freeing up memory and attentional resources for comprehending or composing text. It is interesting that the role MOR development plays in early literacy development has received minimal attention. This article, based on a presentation at the 2007 Katharine G. Butler Symposium on Child Language, first reviews the literature that supports a sequential view of MOR acquisition followed by recent findings that support MOR development as a unique and independently developing skill. A general overview of three investigations designed to determine the independence and contribution of MOR development to children's acquisition of word-level literacy skills is provided. Suggestions for further research and initial clinical implications are made based on the results of the investigations and the current literature on MOR development.