This accessible text brings together research on word reading and comprehension development, which are often treated separately, and provides a comprehensive and detailed introductory text to reading development and difficulties. Key features include: An introduction to the important issues in reading research and the skills involved in reading words and understanding text, from the point of view of both a beginner and a skilled reader A consideration of the similarities and differences between written and spoken language, and the advantages and disadvantages of different methodological approaches An examination of how failures in reading comprehension skills can create difficulties and disorders A consideration of the implications of this research for the teaching of reading and the diagnosis and treatment of reading difficulties This text will be useful to many different groups of readers, not only researchers and students in psychology but also those who work in more applied settings, such as students in education and speech and language therapy, who may have a limited background knowledge of the psychology of reading.