Chapter books present young readers with many more challenges than do the picture books that initiate them into reading. This case study investigation explored ways in which three first graders used their literature response journals to help them negotiate their first chapter book read aloud. Findings of the three case studies revealed that the children continued their engagement in the story world as they wrote in their journals. The children relied on different strategies and focused on somewhat different facets of the story world as they wrote and drew in their journals. However, the strategies they used were ones that held great potential to support meaning making in a complex text world. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)