Today, according to my west coast brother, is "National Young Readers' Day." I cannot begin to express how important it is for children to read. If you can read, really read, you can accomplish just about anything. I'm happy to say that I have spent a lot of time reading to children; first my brothers, then my children, then my grandchildren. With every generation I have happy memories. I remember, for example, reading "Lassie Come Home" to my west coast brother, when he was six and I was sixteen. When we got to the end we both burst out crying (happy tears of relief of course). My son would listen contentedly to any story I would read to him, "The Saggy Baggy Elephant" was an early favorite although he pronounced it "Ag Bag Efnant." My daughter, on the other hand, would only sit still for books that involved counting or little flaps that opened. She liked action books. When it came to the grands, I remembers starting to read "Little House in the Big Woods" (first of my all time favorite series) and being shocked by the graphic descriptions of killing animals and butchering them. I don't remember being bothered by it at all when I first read it. But better by far than reading to any child is the moment when they are excited to read something to you. Right now the second grader I'm tutoring is just beginning to be able to sound out words and understand what he's reading. It's a giant step forward.
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