This study uses a Vygotskian approach and a socio-cultural lens, as well as the Transactional Reading Theory to investigate how "social interactions" and "literary transactions" can combine through "buddy reading" to empower young readers and promote "literacy" in a first grade classroom. The research focuses on how literary transaction and social interaction work together to facilitate emergent and early readers in a "partner/buddy" reading approach. The research question asked whether or not "partner/buddy" reading can promote literacy through social interaction, and yielded three major themes, including the use of reading strategies to "scaffold" learning, making connections with and to the text in order to construct meaning, and using "play" as a type of social interaction and motivational method. The findings suggest that buddy reading as a classroom tool can effectively promote literacy and learning in a cooperative setting. (Contains 2 figures.)