In his brief introduction, the editor states that this collection of writings is intended to assist the understanding of a child's language development as he masters his mother tongue. It is especially for teachers just beginning in bilingual education. The predominance of essays on the experiences of Spanish-speaking people in this collection is because these writings are more readily available and not that they are thought more valid than other material. Included in this collection are a strategy for bilingual education, an essay on learning to read in a bilingual context, an excerpt from the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights report entitled "Toward Quality Education for Mexican Americans, "an essay "A Framework for Implementing Bilingual Education," excerpted from a report by the National Puerto Rican Development and Training Institute, and other pieces that represent the experiences of students and teachers. (JA)