World Book Day was created on April 23rd,1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Each year, this day is set aside to pay tribute to books and their authors by encouraging a love of reading especially in children. It is a well-known fact that spending just ten minutes a day reading and sharing stories with children can make a crucial difference to their future success plus it’s a fun activity for all involved. Books open doors which can lead to a world full of adventure, fantasy and imagination or lead to a world full of facts that teach amazing new things. These were UNESCO’s goals – to celebrate the wonderful power of books and to promote the joy of reading.  

My children and grandchildren developed the love of books at a very young age. The picture below is of Griffin and Claire at two years of age. Chuck is also an avid reader and devours books at an incredible rate. Over the years our book shelves would overflow. He then started exchanging his stash with his friend who liked the same authors but this really didn’t make the numbers less as Chuck would give books to Larry and in return, Larry would hand over his collection to Chuck. We then expanded this travelling library by giving the books to family members with instructions to pass the books on when they were finished as we did not want them back.  

Now you might ask, “Why didn’t Chuck go to the library to get his reading material?” Well, we tried that. After finding the section where all Chuck’s authors were displayed, I went to the area of my interest. Shortly after, I saw Chuck walking out the door with a paperback. Since our only library card was in my possession, I ran after him to tell him that he had to sign the book out. My mistake. Chuck had spotted a cart with books for sale and he was tickled pink with his fifty-cent purchase. End of library visits for Chuck. 

But I had not yet given up. Christmas was coming and so I thought I had the perfect gift for Chuck, a Kindle reader. Wrong. Not sure if it was the technology involved or if he was just set in his ways but I was informed by him that it just didn’t feel like a book so that idea was shelved along with all his books.  

 I am so grateful that my family enjoys reading. What fun they all have on rainy days, snowy days and even on days when the internet IS working. Chuck is surviving COVID with ease as he is always able to escape into a good book.   

 So, my friends, celebrate World Book Day by picking a new book to read or by reading a book to a child. Maybe even order my book, “The Sleepover” from Amazon or Indigo.  

George R.R. Martin sums it up perfectly. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”  

One is never too young or too old to enjoy a good book.

                                                         

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