By Lynn M.
I just finished watching the library video story when my 7-year-old nephew knocked on my office window. Unbeknownst to me, he had been camped out under my window with his father’s watch to tell him when my work day had officially ended. The reason he was so excited? His favorite author we had been sharing together had released a new series he found at our local library. We began the original series together, first my reading to him, then progressing to sharing the reading together, and finally him reading the last three books to me. He was so excited he already read the entire book during recess, lunch, and the ride home from school. Neither his father nor his mother read for pleasure. While they are quick to pay for a new video game or toy, they do not buy him books. His love of reading is supported mainly by our local public library and his school library. Checking out my limit of books is how I devoured books when I first learned to read, and it’s so wonderful he has that resource available to him in this day and age of digital media. Without the resources a library provides, he would be limited to the books I buy for him as the only adult in his life that shares the love of reading. When he can devour a book in less than a day, it’s not a habit anyone less than a full library could sustain! It is so wonderful to see him just as excited by library day at school as he is by pizza day!