ABSTRACT
Learning to read is a bit like deciphering a secret code. Babies and young children first meet language as a series of sounds grouped together to make a variety of spoken texts. Then, at about the age of two, they discover print even though it's a while before they can decipher these strange squiggles for themselves. The French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, said that when he was a very young child, watching adults reading, he thought they were praying. They put their heads down over the paper and confusing sounds came out of their mouths.
