Círculos literarios, cooperativas de lectura: leer para transformar.

This article describes a didactic project for the implementation of literacy circles that aimed at promoting reading and active participation of parents and children in the literacy process, and encouraging equity and integration of the students in their community. During the course of a year, twenty-five first generation Latin families, living in a community located in the south inner city of Los Angeles, and an educator, read and analyzed bilingual books in Spanish and English utilizing literacy circles as a platform of literature in action. Reading books together and reflecting on them helped all the participants in this project to shape the process of learning to read and write within an educational frame that not only respects the linguistic and cultural richness of two languages but also promotes this richness as a tool that endorses the rapprochement between two worlds. The activities were carried out at school and at home in different groups: the family, small groups of students, and then the whole class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]