To me, books are like friends.
I can’t imagine living without them. I can’t imagine what it would be like to struggle to read words on a page. I can’t imagine a childhood without Dr. Seuss or The Poky Little Puppy or Nancy Drew or The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
My childhood was filled with books at our house, my mother read stories and made sure we made regular trips to the library.
I still remember walking into the Southwood Branch, a squat brick building, and inhaling the smell of all the stored books deep into my lungs. It was like that feeling of anticipation before you go on a trip, the sense of not knowing exactly what you are going to find, but that the journey will be enjoyable.
I remember loving the special kid-sized reading desks and the seemingly endless choices of books to pull off the shelves. The hardest part was deciding which of the multitudes to bring home.
And my love affair with books didn’t wane as I got older and could read to myself. I used to tell my mother I was scared of the dark so she would leave my door open and the bathroom light on, so I could continue reading in bed. I hid a flashlight a few times and read under the covers, but I usually got busted and had to reluctantly give up my reading material.
I’ve now caught my five-year-old doing the same thing and, I confess, that sometimes, rather than send her back to bed, I let her think she’s getting away with lying on her floor beside her bedroom door reading by the light in the hall. Many nights, I end up closing her book and lifting her back into bed. I want her to love books as I do.
Indeed, when it came to naming my second daughter, Paige, I had someone comment that it wasn’t a good choice because it only reminded her of pages in a book. I actually love that reference; it was part of why I liked the name in the first place.
Clearly, my love of reading also translated into a love of writing and certainly a greater enjoyment of school and university, and led me to my chosen career.
If you are reading this, I’m probably preaching to the choir. You too, probably enjoy reading and had similar experiences with books growing up.
But that is not the experience of many children, even right here in our own community. There are many children who don’t have books at their disposal.
And that is where we can help. The current challenge is to light up a love of reading in a child by making sure they have access to books. One of the ways we can do this is to participate in the Heap the Honda children’s book drive on now at Piccadilly Mall. A Honda vehicle is parked inside the mall awaiting donations of new or gently used children’s books which will be distributed to local organizations that provide services to families in our community.
By donating, we can all play a part in ensuring that all the children in our community are readers.