ABSTRACT
I received this e-mail from a parent in Canada at the time I was writing this chapter. I sent it to one of the editors of this book, and she arranged for a family literacy center to contact the distressed parent. It was a message that I have received many times before. Aletter I remember most was sent to me when I carried out a parent survey that asked questions about reading (Nicholson, 1999). The parent wrote to me: “I have two children how [sic] need books bad. They are very backwood in their readying at school. How do I get the right books for them? I am give you my name and address would you let me know about the books for my children I hope so.” I wrote to the parent and gave her a list of book titles, but I felt bad, because at the time there were no specialist services that I could recommend to her. There are more services available nowadays, but there are still many parents who desperately need help for their children, yet schools struggle to find resources to help them.
