Bookanalia

And other reading pleasures

Sally Allen

Sally Allen
Location
Connecticut, USA
Birthday
December 31
Title
Human Female
Company
Why yes, I'd love some.
Bio
In my life, I have won an inheritance and lost it. I have travelled through time and to the other side of the world. I have solved murders, experienced storybook romances, and discovered alternate universes. Which is to say: In my life, I have read. Academic tomes and romance novels, murder mysteries and classic literary fiction. Newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, and lots of product labels (but rarely user manuals). Along the way, I earned a PhD and drank a lot of coffee.

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NOVEMBER 30, 2011 3:20PM

What's so important about reading?

Rate: 4 Flag

One way to donate books 

 

“When I get a little money, I buy books. If any is left, I buy food and clothes.”

This quote has been attributed to 16th Century Dutch Humanist Erasmus, best known for “In Praise of Folly,” which—fun fact—was dedicated to his buddy Sir. Thomas Moore.

Not that I’m an Erasmus scholar. But it’s a popular quote among obsessive book lovers like, well, me. You may have encountered it printed on merchandizing-friendly stuff like mugs and t-shirts or floating at the edges of book-related websites. The quote even has its own Facebook page. It seems a little hyperbolic, but who am I to say? I have not been faced with having to choose which basic necessities to purchase, though too many Americans, tragically, have.

But here’s what studies have shown about the presence of books in a child’s life: 

  • Early exposure to reading reduces the risk of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and delinquency.
  • Reading aloud to children promotes bonding and attachment.
  • On average, children who grow up in homes that have 20 books     complete two more years of education than do those who grow up in homes without books.
  • The two most significant predictors of academic success are being read to as a child and having books in the home.
  • Reading aloud to children stimulates brain development.
  • Reading aloud to children is the most important preventer of low literacy.
  • 61 percent of low-income families lack age-appropriate books in their home.

On a related note, I know of at least two book drives in my part of Connecticut. I’d love to know about more.

The UJA/Federation of Westport-Weston-Wilton-Norwalk, Books2Connect, and the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to collect and distribute books to children and families in need. The book drive runs through Dec. 12, with a number of conveniently located drop-off locations around town. Also requesting book donations this month is Barnes and Noble of Westport, to benefit First Book Fairfield County.

I’m just saying.

A version of this story originally appeared on www.hamlethub.com/Westport.

 

Author tags:

reading and literacy, developing early literacy, literacy, reading, first book, books2connect, uja, book drives

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Amen! I didn't know these statistics, but I know my love of reading has helped me in so many ways. And still does. I wish I knew of book drives to tell you about; I dont, unfortunately. But I'm glad they exist. As you point out so well here, reading is extremely important, even from an early age.
Alysa Salzberg
November 30, 2011 04:11 PM
I'm thankful to my mother for many things, but most of all I'm thankful for her instilling a love of reading in me from an early age. In fact, she taught me to read at three. Reading has been enormously important in my life, and I hope it will be so for my son as well.
Lisa DeBusk
November 30, 2011 05:06 PM
Thank you, Alysa! Book drives make me so happy--it's like sharing a world.

Lisa, my son is 10 and we still read together. It's my favorite part of the day. We're reading The Invention of Huge Cabret right now. It's amazing, and I highly recommend it for grown-ups too. By the way, I'm reading IQ84--about 1/4 of the way through and loving it so far.
Sally Allen
November 30, 2011 05:35 PM
My son is three now and books are a huge part of his life. I hope it stays that way! I haven't started 1Q84 yet because of all the writing I did for NaNoWriMo and because I'd already started reading a million other things. I hope to get to it some time within the next month.
Lisa DeBusk
November 30, 2011 05:38 PM
Dont read! 'merika would not be 'merika if we did. Where would we be ? We would not have been through 8 years of Bush - an admitted non reader. Reading - even having the ability to read could end hunger, actually would end hunger. Readers demand accountablilty from ...well every one. That's why we don't want readers. They think outside the book -
Snowden
November 30, 2011 07:33 PM
I like that quote and I'd seen it before. My son was enthralled by books at a real early age--you can see pictures of him at about one with a little frown of concentration on his face when he's being read a book. Last year when I read Animal Farm to the 9th grade students I teach they were curiously lulled . . . I thought it was because elementally the book is about animals and they liked hearing an animal story.
ManhattanWhiteGirl
December 01, 2011 05:29 PM