The purpose of this Educational Criticism and Connoisseurship Study was to analyze the perceptions of parents and teachers of reading supports and barriers on the affective development of gifted readers. The research questions that guided this study were: What do parents and teachers perceive as the most effective reading supports that promote the affective development of young gifted readers? What do parents and teachers perceive as the major barriers that hinder the affective development of elementary gifted readers? How can children's literature be used to support or hinder the affective development of gifted readers? Participants of this study were parents and teachers of gifted readers. Parents had at least one gifted child who was specifically identified in reading and teachers were gifted and talented teachers in a school district, working directly with gifted readers. Interviews were conducted with both parents and teachers to gain their perspectives about the supports and barriers that young gifted readers face in their affective development. The themes that emerged from this study were as follows: RQ1: Teamwork and Compassionate Allies RQ2: Underachievement and Unusual Reactions, Perfectionism RQ3: Powerful Literature Changes Lives The perception of gifted readers that emerged from this study were children with a strong moral compass with solid connections to books, ones who needed to see themselves within the quality literature they were reading, and children who need thoughtful differentiation and caring, patient allies to help them navigate their way through their difficult and unusual reality into adulthood. [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.]