LITERACY LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS. Edited by Caroline Barratt-Pugh and Mary Rohl. (Open University Press, 15.99, 01280 823388)
Reviewed by Marian Whitehead, language and early years consultant.
This is a significant new introductory text to literacy development, one of several good books on the subject that have come from 'Down Under' in recent years. Some contributors have worked in the UK and will be known to practitioners here.
The theoretical basis of the book is a social and cultural perspective with a sharp focus on the homes and communities in which children first experience literacy. It challenges the narrowly utilitarian approach to literacy learning when schools are required to implement the National Literacy Strategy.
I enjoyed the chapters on different contexts for literacy, play settings, bilinguals, 'words and sounds' and assessment. The book is also crammed with photos and children's work.
