Four years after publishing her provocative study, ""Reading Families: The Literate Lives of Urban Children"", Compton-Lilly revisits the same group of urban students (then first graders, now fourth and fifth graders) and their families. Armed with rare longitudinal data from follow-up interviews and reading assessments, she once again upsets widespread misconceptions about reading and urban families. This eye-opening sequel uses case studies to explore important issues, such as students' feelings of connection to their school; gender and schooling; parents' experiences dealing with ""the system""; high-stakes testing; and technology use at home.

Foreword by: James Paul Gee