The Czech Republic has always devoted great attention to the development of reading and above the development of initial reading. In line with the current overall conception of literacy, the development of initial reading is now known as initial reading literacy, which is an essentially broader concept. Together with focus on the development of initial reading literacy there has been an important increase in in-terest in the preceding developmental stage, the period of preliteracy.
The text presents an analysis of European statě and school curricula specifically from the point of view of the development of preliteracy and initial reading literacy. The purpose of comparative study of these curricula, which follows on from an already published comparison of curricula at earlier periods, is to present up-to-date information on current trends in the field and so provide inspiration for future reforms in the Czech Republic.