Book excerpt: A Guided Reader to Early Years and Primary English draws on extracts from the published work of some of the most influential education writers to provide insight, guidance and clarity about key issues affecting early years practitioners and primary English teachers. The book brings together key extracts from classic and contemporary writing and contextualises these in both theoretical and practical terms. The extracts are accompanied by a summary of the key ideas and issues raised, questions to promote discussion and reflective practice, and annotated further reading lists to extend thinking. Taking a thematic approach and including a short introduction to each theme, the chapters cover: Models of and approaches to early years and primary English; Speaking and listening in English lessons: story-telling, drama, ‘booktalk’ and debate; Reading and responding to texts in English lessons; Writing in English lessons: finding a ‘voice’; Knowledge about language: grammar, spelling, punctuation and handwriting; The rich landscape of children’s literature; Non-fiction in English lessons; Planning, assessing and recording children’s progress: the learning cycle. Aimed at trainee and newly qualified teachers, those working towards Masters level qualifications and all those involved in the teaching of early years and primary English, this accessible, but critically provocative text will be an essential resource for those that wish to deepen their understanding of early years and primary English education.