The best and one of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is the opportunity to read. So why are so many houses vacant of books? I am doing a book reading this Wednesday evening at a book store for children. I will be reading poems from Ralph Fletcher's 'A Writing Kind of Day~Poems For Young Poets.' Since it is National Poetry Month this is a perfect selection.
I had a choice of two venues for this weeks readings; an adult and a children's site. With me children always come first so it was an easy choice even though I would be reading someone else's works. But I must admit I do have an ulterior motive in my choice.
The results of a survey, taken a few years ago, show that 25% of homes in the United States have no books. This is an astonishing number to me. No books mean decreased learning opportunities for children. No books mean the joy of recreational reading is not be offered to family members.
"One of my favorite teachers came in yesterday. Jen gets to know all of her students, whether they’re in her regular class during the year, or in her enrichment class during the summer. She handpicks books after getting to know the students. We were talking a mile a minute, pulling books as she spoke, until she came to Lewis. She paused after saying his name and touched her hand to her heart and said, “I asked him what were his favorite books from home. And he said ‘Don’t got no books at home.’ ” ~~from an article by Josie Leavitt http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=1625
To me this is a shocking statement to hear come from a child. At this very moment I have over 1000 books in my home and probably another 1000 in storage. I grew up having books placed in front of me on an almost daily basis. My love of writing grew out of this immersion in a life with books.
For many years we have been drumming the statement 'Reading Is Fun-demental' into our population and still people have not fully understood the value and the necessity for gaining a love for reading at an early age. In an age where our local libraries are stocked with wonderful reading experiences; there is no excuse for a parent to deny reading to any child. Libraries are FREE to all. All it takes is for a parent to give their child a ride to the library and then let their imagination go wild. http://www.rif.org/about/programs/default.mspx
A LIBRARY CARD MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT CARD A CHILD EVER CARRIES!!
Because a library card is the key that opens a child's mind to all the possibilities that life has to offer. If a child can dream something, and they know that the possibility of gaining that dream exists, they will chase their dreams. Will they all reach their dream. Of course not. But without reading; dreaming is so much harder.
Growing up without a mother and with my father serving in the military books became my safe haven. My place to retreat into and learn the things my mother would have taught me had she been with me. Books gave me an understanding of why my father was away so much and why what he did was so important. Books shaped my life.
I passed the love of reading down to my brother and sister and they, even though at the beginnings of their lives, have learned life skills that will help them succeed.
Children need to learn to love reading. They need to learn how to dream. Please give them that opportunity. Please take that short ride to the library. Please read with them for a short time each day because children mimic the people in their lives. Let them see you reading.
Yes! 'Reading Is Fun-demental' but more important is that 'Reading Is Necessary' to achieve a child's dreams.
Love ya,
Night
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