The Essentials of Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference, Third Edition,by Reutzel and Cooter is the ideal hands-on personal guide for pre- and in-service K–8 teachers who want to make a critical difference in ensuring effective reading instruction for all students. It shows educators how, by thinking deeply about their teaching decisions, they can come to understand and meet the literacy needs of every student. The authors present seven pillars of effective reading instruction—Teacher Knowledge, Classroom Assessment, Evidence-Based Teaching Practices, Response to Intervention (RTI), Motivation and Engagement, Technology and New Literacies, and Family and Community Connections—that provide a logical and consistent structure for closely examining the essential elements that well-prepared literacy teachers know, understand, and are able to implement in the classroom.