A study of the ways adults socialize children into particular patterns of literacy by helping them develop the literary and social knowledge necessary for using and understanding print is described in this monograph. Specifically, the monograph focuses on adults and children observed over a period of 18 months at a preschool, and provides insights into how adults acted on their assumptions about how children learn to make sense of written text. The chapters discuss (1) the constructs framing the study; (2) dimensions of storyreading--what we know and need to know; (3) a case study approach to examining storyreading; (4) the context in which storyreading is embedded, including the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the nursery-school community; (5) the nursery school structure, including the physical plant, material culture and organization of space, and organization of time; (6) reading and writing "off the rug," which includes the uses, contexts for, instruction, and practice of reading and writing occurring in many differing situations during the school day; (7) "rug-time" (usually book reading events) as a framework for storyreading; (8) storyreading as an interactive negotiation; (9) experiences in life related to text during group story reading; (10) relating text information to life experiences; and (11) conclusions and implications for teachers, parents, and researchers. Most chapters contain summaries. The monograph concludes with a list of children's books cited in the text, references, and author and subject indexes. (EL)