Reading comprehension is likely one of the most cognitively active and complex activities in which we engage. It is also one of the most important in the lives of young children. To a very large degree, success in reading comprehension will predict children's success in school, but just as important(ly), it will give them the means for developing and pursuing new interests for the rest of their lives, to escape boredom, and to acquire a vast amount of information about the world around them and about worlds they may never experience directly.