Noting that some elementary school children may have difficulty learning to read using basal readers, this paper describes the successful implementation of the Big Books for Beginning Readers reading program in a California elementary school. The first section of the paper discusses the problems students were having with reading, including a lack of success in phonics and skill activities, and a need for a more detailed and descriptive vocabulary. The second section reviews the literature pertinent to the problem, and stresses Durkin's research on the bedtime story cycle, while the third section details the Big Books program, which is based on New Zealand's Shared Book Experience program. The section discusses the methods by which students became more interested and fluent readers, including having familiar books read to them, joining in on often repeated phrases, and involving parents by having them make Big Books and helping with the children's reading at home. The fourth section examines the process of implementing the Big Books model, including adapting the materials to the school's beginning reading in Spanish program, while the final section evaluates the program, offering positive comments from the school's reading teachers. (References for English and Spanish Big Books, 14 references for teachers, and names of persons to contact for more information are included.) (JC)