Renée M. Casbergue, PhD, is the Vira Franklin and James R. Eagle Professor of Education at Louisiana State University, where she currently serves as director of the early childhood teacher preparation program and is a member of the literacy faculty. A former classroom teacher and reading specialist, she has served as president of the Literacy Development in Young Children Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association (IRA; now International Literacy Association). Dr. Casbergue received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Early Reading First (ERF) program to create centers of excellence for early literacy in preschool classrooms in New Orleans public schools after serving as a consultant and external evaluator for ERF projects in four other states. She has published widely on effective learning and teaching in preschool and the primary grades.Dorothy S. Strickland, PhD, is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education (Emerita) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the National Institute for Early Education Research. A former classroom teacher, reading consultant, and learning disabilities specialist, she is a past president of both the IRA and the Reading Hall of Fame. Dr. Strickland is a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Educator of Reading Award from IRA, the Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Ferguson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Early Childhood Education from National Louis University. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and books on early childhood education.

"Informative, objective, insightful, and filled with practical applications. Both authors are experts in the field, which greatly contributes to the book’s significance. Casbergue and Strickland have done an outstanding job synthesizing the most current, relevant research on teaching reading and writing in preschool. This book should be on every preschool teacher’s shelf."--Susan J. Kimmel, PhD, Executive Director, Center for Early Childhood Professional Development, University of Oklahoma"This book is such a wonderful resource for all teachers, especially new teachers. It gives background and insight on how to organize activities that will stimulate early reading skills and promote writing."--Shawn B. Tolliver, MAT, PreK teacher, Fannie C. Williams Charter School, New Orleans"Casbergue and Strickland have succeeded in turning findings from scientifically based reading research into strategies for supporting children’s print and alphabetic knowledge. The best thing about this book is that it situates early literacy both developmentally and within the child's family and school relationships. It provides a much deeper presentation of foundational literacy skills than the many other books that cover these skills in isolation or offer a cookbook-like approach to activities. Of particular note is the care and attention given to the often-neglected area of writing development. This book would be an excellent text for an undergraduate course on supporting early literacy or an inservice teacher study group."--Martha Buell, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Delaware -

• 1. Where Reading and Writing Begin2. Preschool Contexts for Literacy Development and Learning3. Connecting Oral Language to Print Knowledge4. Developing Print and Alphabetic Knowledge for Reading5. Developing Alphabetic Knowledge for Writing6. Assessing Print Knowledge for Reading in Preschool7. Assessing Writing Developmentin Preschool