"This is a scholarly textbook which should become essential reading for psychologists, educationalists and speech and language therapists. Kate Cain has an ability to present very complex issues with a degree of clarity that ensures the reader comes to a deep understanding of the issues and quality of the scientific evidence that she presents for analysis."
-Professor Rhona Stainthorp, Institute of Education, University of Reading

"Kate Cain's valuable account of the psychology of learning to read is clear, incisive and always interesting. It tells us how children learn to decipher single words and to read whole sentences, and also how they are eventually able to co-ordinate the meanings of several, different sentences in order to understand quite complicated texts."
-Peter Bryant, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University

Reading is a complex activity that involves a range of skills in order to access meaning via the printed word. Reading Development and Difficulties demonstrates that there are two aspects to a child becoming a skilled reader: the development of good word reading skills and the ability to extract the overall meaning of a text. This book provides a comprehensive and balanced introduction to the development of these two core aspects of reading. In addition, the author examines the specific problems that underlie reading difficulties with a detailed review of two populations: children with developmental dyslexia, and children with poor reading comprehension. The final chapters focus on instruction and intervention, and the assessment of reading for educational, research, and diagnostic purposes.

• Unique in its balanced coverage of both word reading and reading comprehension development, this book is an essential resource for undergraduates studying literacy acquisition.
• Offers wide coverage of the subject and discusses both typical development and the development of difficulties in reading.
• Accessibly written for students and professionals with no previous background in reading development or reading difficulties.