For the Love of Reading Books

Child Reading Book by YesterdayCafe
See more Illustration Posters

WHEN I became a mother, it was as natural as breathing to read to my children from the time they were born. Over time we ended up with a large collection of children's books, some of which have been kept in my "grandma box" for visits, some have been passed down to the grandchildren, and the rest went to my artist daughter to use as reference material for her artwork, and because she loves them all.

*Pictured is Chris at age 2, reading new Christmas Book with his daddy

MY oldest son was diagnosed with Amyblyopia (the Lazy Eye) at age 6, just as he was learning to read. By the time he went through the process of 'correction' (wearing a patch on the good eye to allow the 'bad' eye to become stronger), his reading skills were behind his classmates and reading was more of a struggle and a 'have-to' for school, not something you did for fun & enjoyment. I worried about it for awhile, until I talked to a very wise grade school English teacher who told me to stop worrying, and to never nag him about it. She said he would begin to read for pleasure at his own pace, in his own time. Something would get him interested and there would be no turning back. She was right, although, except for car magazines and such, he didn't really begin his reading enjoyment until he met his future wife, who loved books. Kathie got him interested in reading for pleasure, beginning with her collection of Dean Koontz novels, and today he reads at least some every day.

Amblyopia is the medical term used when the vision in one of the eyes is reduced because the eye and the brain are not working together properly. The eye itself looks normal, but it is not being used normally because the brain is favoring the other eye. This condition is also sometimes called lazy eye. For more information, visit the National Eye Institute of NIH.

MY youngest son, Greg, also loves reading and has a wide range of interests in both fiction and nonfiction. Some books take him a long time to finish because he likes to take notes, and reread passages, and 'think' about it.

Fiction books he usually reserves for reading at bedtime, simply for pleasure.

One of his favorite things to do is to read a book along with someone else, because he loves having book 'discussions'.

Then there is my daughter, Kimberly, who has been known to read 3-4 books simultaneously, and somehow keep track of each story. One book will be by her bed, one in the living room, one in the car in case she has to wait somewhere, and one always in her purse to read lunchtimes at work. She is one of the best readers, and the fastest, I have ever seen. She taught herself to read before she was four years old and I didn't even realize it until I tried to 'hurry' through a bedtime book one night, skipping a sentence here and there and Kim stopped me with "Mom, you missed this part"... and proceeded to read it to me! I was so amazed at her reading ability, mostly self-taught (with a lot of regular exposure to books) that at age 5, before starting school, a neighbor & former teacher informally gave Kim a reading & comprehension test she'd used in her teaching years. The results were even more amazing than the day I learned she was reading on her own. I was told that Kim could read "virtually anything", and that she comprehended through the 5th grade level at age 5. And the only reason her comprehension skills were limited at all was due to not being old enough to have heard the word or had experience yet with a described situation.

At age 7, Kimberly's second grade classroom was replacing some of their books used for teaching reading and were disposing of a bunch of "Dick & Jane" books. Kim asked to have them, brought them home, and over the next few weeks used them to teach her 4-year-old brother to read. She would have made a great teacher if her natural artistic talent hadn't led her down a different path in life

By the time the grandchildren came along, my 'Grandma Toy Box' held a bunch of children's books, as well as favorite toys saved over the years the children were growing up. The boys love the books as much as the toys.

*Picture shows Nicholas with a toy, brother Jacob with a 'storybook'.

Marie Clapper, former Publisher of "Crafts 'n Things" magazine, wrote in her wonderful One Last Thought ... column in the January 1996 issue, a few of her Random Thoughts. This one on Reading I thought was very special, and is reprinted here with Ms. Clapper's sweet permission. (See marie.clapper.com (no www) for her current writing)

Another Way to Say, "I Love You"

"From the time my kids could sit up, I've read to them. Cleaning, cooking, -- they could wait, but reading was a must. Children learn from hearing books, newspapers, and even craft magazines read to them. They learn words, ideas, that knowledge has value, and that the reader really likes the person she's reading to."

There's No Such Thing as Too Many Books by friendlyspirit

My personal library contains over 800 books in a wide variety of areas, but a large percentage of them are Mysteries and Suspense stories. I have quite a number of collections of favorite mystery authors, some of which are shown in this picture. My all-time favorite is Dick Francis. More about these in a future lens.

I love books and have amassed a large home library of books I re-read frequently. But, in addition, I make regular trips to the Public Library.

Libraries are truly the 'building blocks of our communities'. From large cities to small hamlets, branch libraries can be found. In isolated areas, our libraries send 'Bookmobiles' to bring the world of reading to everyone.

Can you imagine a time when our Public Libraries might disappear? When a child couldn't 'discover a magical world' filled with books on any subject they could envision? It would not only be a shame.... it would be a disgrace!

If you can't imagine a future without Public Libraries, come read Paul's blog In Praise Of UK Public Libraries

*Paul is Lensmaster PaulOnBooks on Squidoo. He's well worth reading.

AS you can see, books are a very important part of my life and in the lives of my family. This sign displayed in Stacey's Bookstore, famous in San Francisco from 1923 to 2009, says it all ---
Books are Affordable, Portable, and Memorable.