Perhaps educators shy away from serious consideration of "fun" because the term is typically associated with the kinds of activities found on the playground rather than in the classroom. According to the first, third, and fifth-graders involved in this study however, different definitions of fun can be applied in different contexts and these definitions can be broad enough to include conditions specifically related to literacy activities. When these conditions are met, students do not regard reading and writing as work to be avoided, but rather, work to be embraced. Students revealed that fun motivates them to more willingly expend the effort necessary to read and write. Consequently, teachers should not only examine their own beliefs regarding the relationship between fun and learning, but should also engage in conversations with their students in an effort to make better use of the motivating power of "hard fun" in literacy learning. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)