First I must thank Marian McLucas for being the catalyst for this project. 

Marian was concerned about her daughter who was enrolled in a tutoring course which introduced phonics to 3 year olds as preparation for reading.   We began discussing more natural ways to accelerate readiness for literacy and the idea for Raising Readers was born. Thank you Marian for that, and for your support and feedback along the way. 

To my teaching colleagues at St Francis Xavier's I am very grateful for your early perusals and comments.  To Chloe, Claire, Tim and David thank you for your help with the Alphabets.  A special thank you also to Kathy Mickan, Rosemary Fitzgerald, and Loretta Builder, for your readings, critiques, suggestions, and support. 

Last, but not least, thank you to all the parents and school assistants who have worked with me over the years for your enthusiasm, commitment, and natural teaching abilities in helping the children in your care overcome their learning difficulties and develop into more confident people.  Your dedication to helping children has been a continual inspiration to me.

Philip Builder 
January, 2004