The Fountas and Pinnell "Leveled Literacy Intervention System" (LLI), first edition, is a textbook series designed for struggling elementary school readers. The materials have become entrenched in the nation's schools and are currently utilized as an intervention resource in all fifty states and four of the seven largest school districts in Florida. Reading intervention support is a requirement for students in most states, often due to their performance on standardized assessments (Diffey, 2016). Moreover, NAEP data indicates that students of color are overrepresented in reading intervention courses; thus, instructional materials choices made for these courses disproportionally affect this population (The Nation's Report Card, n.d.). As culturally relevant texts are academically beneficial, it is critical that intervention materials are appropriately representative (Aronson & Laughter, 2016; Au, 2001; Sampson & Garrison-Wade, 2011). The purpose of this qualitative critical content analysis of the 731 books within the LLI system was to examine the cultural, ethnic, and racial representation of people/characters of color within the series. Major findings revealed that people/characters of color were depicted from a deficit model (Ladson-Billings, 2018). Coded information revealed 41.5% included a negative characterization while 7.6% offered a positive portrayal. Further, the books exploring the experiences and cultures of people/characters of color depicted undesirable conditions 25.7% of the time while presenting favorable information 2.5% of the time. The final finding centers on what is missing from the stories. Other than a select few texts, the LLI books are colorblind, presenting students an inaccurate view of society. Accordingly, counternarratives and stories that center on social justice/equity are notably absent. As a textbook series implemented in reading intervention classrooms across the country, characterizations within the LLI stories have an impact on the struggling readers who use them (Murray et al., 2014; Schwartz, 2019). Publishers should consider this when creating their products, and school districts must remember this when reviewing options for purchase. The students relegated to reading intervention classrooms are dependent on these officials for an equitable, enriching education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]