"The volume begins by reviewing the foundations of cognitive flexibility, its relationship to literacy learning, and its development across the lifespan. Chapters then delve into specific literacy processes, such as phonemic awareness, word recognition, and comprehension. For example, contributors elucidate how good readers simultaneously manage information about the sounds of different words, the letters they comprise, and the meanings they convey. Less skilled readers, on the other hand, exhibit an inflexible focus on one or a few aspects of these tasks. Translating research into practice, the book probes the implications for improving children's educational outcomes." "Integrating dynamic areas of research that have often remained disparate, this clearly organized volume provides essential knowledge and tools for reading researchers, teacher educators, educational psychologists, and reading specialists. It may serve as a text in graduate-level courses on reading processes or the psychology of reading."--book jacket.