Books for Children: The Gift of Reading

Toys are nice for their impact value and their instant appeal, but soon they lay discarded in the corner gathering dust. But a book, the gift of reading, is something that will enrich a child’s life and carry with it benefits and joys that will last a lifetime. Personally, reading helped get me through a difficult childhood. Many a night, having been beaten by my old man, tears not yet dried, I’d curl up in bed and lose myself between the covers of a book. All my subsequent success as a student was linked to my ability as a reader. Besides, to this day, reading brings me peace and comfort.

But, what do I know? I thought I’d see what others had to say about reading:

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."
~ Emilie Buchwald

"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read."
~ Marilyn Jager Adams

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
~ Jacqueline Kennedy

"Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!"
~ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."
~ Walt Disney

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."
~ Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

"There is no substitute for books in the life of a child."
~ Mary Ellen Chase

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs,is good for him."
~ Richard McKenna

"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting."
~ Lady M. W. Montague

"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations - something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own."
~ Katherine Paterson

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."
~ Anna Quindlen

I’ve dedicated considerable webspace to books for children and adults. The commissions I receive from the sale of books are meager, but that does not diminish the satisfaction I experience whenever someone buys a book for a child or themselves.