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Acknowledgements Funding for this work was provided by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A100284 to the Regents of the University of Michigan. The opinions expressed are those of the researchers/authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. This book is part of a larger project involving extensive effort by many individuals. These included the Project Director: Holly K. Craig, Ph.D., the author: Ms. Debbie Taylor, the illustrator: Mr. Jason Phillips, the instructional designer: Ms. Erin Quinn, a teacher preparation specialist: Ms. Rachel Schachter, and a language-literacy specialist: Dr. Joanne Pierson. Ms. Stephanie Hensel managed the project in the participating schools and classrooms, and she supervised the work of many dedicated staff and students from the University of Michigan who gathered data about how the books were meeting the intended goals. The Flint Community Schools of Flint Michigan partnered with us in this project. Ms. Shelly Umphrey provided invaluable liaison between the research staff and the school administrators, principals, and teachers. We appreciate the many students who participated in our story book lessons and gave us their opinions about likes and dislikes. An expert advisory board provided guidance to the project as a whole, including the generation of story books. We are most grateful to David Bloome, Ph.D., Nicole Patton Terry, Ph.D., John Rickford, Ph.D., and Rebecca Wheeler, Ph.D. What is African American English (AAE)? African American English is known currently by a number of names, especially African American Vernacular English, African American Language, and sometimes by Ebonics. AAE is a dialect of English and is used by many African Americans. In addition, many African Americans speak Mainstream English (ME). A somewhat more formal version of ME, known as MCE for Mainstream Classroom English, is typically used in classrooms by teachers and is the format of printed text books. Which dialect is spoken by African Americans depends upon the individual, his/her community language forms, and even individual preferences. Many individuals are skilled at both AAE and ME and switch between the two depending upon the context in which the speaking will occur. Some important contextual influences on whether an individual will use forms of AAE or ME include the age and relationships of the people having the conversation, and the nature of the topic under discussion. Children start school speaking the language they hear and speak in their own communities, and for many African American students this is AAE. During their participation in the early elementary grades of public schools, many of these students learn ME as well and will learn to use MCE when academic tasks require it. It is important to note that text books are written in MCE. Recent research has shown that African American students who learn to shift away from their heritage dialect of AAE for classroom purposes to the forms of ME and of MCE used typically by a teacher when directing a lesson and giving instructions as well as in reading and writing, often find it easier to learn to read. 34