The argument here is that learning to read for young people in school is not a monolithic process but, rather, consists of multiple and differentiated pathways involving the acquisition of diverse reading practices and cultural ideologies embedded in a broad range of social and cultural contexts. Such a view of learning to read entails reconceptualizing reading and literacy, what it means to be a reader, and the meanings associated with reading, learning, and instruction. We discuss a theoretical framework for viewing learning to read for young children in school as a social and cultural process. Then we describe the storytelling project, an effort to reframe early literacy learning in school.