The purpose of this dissertation is to explore ways in which educators can provide space for critical literacy and transactional responses with literature in early childhood classrooms. This approach to early literacy involves bringing the following three theories into practice when teaching young children: Transactional Theory of Reader Response, Critical Pedagogy, and Sociocultural Theory of Play. This participant observation study explored the multiple modalities through which children respond to literature as well as ways of engaging young children with literature and critical literacy through play. This research provides insight into the ways in which young children respond to literature during read alouds and the ways in which play can be used to implement culture circles in the early childhood classroom. The findings of this research suggest the importance of providing space for young children to respond multimodally to literature and provides evidence that young children are capable of thinking critically outside of their own views when given the opportunities and experiences to learn through social interactions during play. [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.]