It is not the intent of this research to make broad generalizations about literacy in low-income families by comparing participants, but rather to understand better the phenomenon of family literacy by looking at literacy-related practices and perceptions. Although comparing the analyses across families brings out some frequently occurring themes between the participants, there are as many differences as commonalities between them. This finding serves to highlight the individualistic and contextual nature of literacy in low-income homes. In fact, as Snow and Tabors (1996) point out, it is difficult to isolate the factors that may produce a given effect simply by comparing across social classes. They argue that social class is a label encompassing many variables which are difficult to separate, including "parental education, occupational status, income, housing conditions, time allocation, attitudes toward school and schooling, experiences with school, expectations for future educational and occupational success, nature of the family's social network, style of parent-child interaction" (p. 1).

In the Literacy Experiences at Home section, I review the circumstances of the lives of my research participants to portray their realities. Their compelling stories challenged me continually to ponder and reflect on the data as information was being collected. When I began transcribing the interviews, I realized the power of their words. So as not to lose this poignancy, I use their direct quotations where possible and then offer my opinions and interpretations of what they said. All hesitations and repetitions were maintained as I attempted to preserve their meaning by showing the occasions in which they may have been more reticent to speak. I use pseudonyms to protect the participants' identities throughout my reporting, and when disclosing sensitive personal information, I deliberately did not associate the statements made with a particular participant. I was cognizant of how participants might feel if they could be identified in some way from my statements, and of the detrimental effect that might accrue should certain statements be misinterpreted and used to cast a negative tone over the individuals who were so kind as to open their homes and their lives for my research. I therefore used my discretion at these times and took additional precautions to ensure that my writing would not allow participants to be recognized or to feel disrespected because of the stories they told or the characteristics of their lives.