Nerds Unite!

I felt like writing on my blog, but I didn't really have anything to talk about. So, I'm going to talk about something worldly that I love dearly. BOOKS. I'm a nerd!! An unashamed nerd. When I go to Hastings, it's not for the movies. I go to stare at the row upon endless row of hardback, beautiful, shiny books. I feel like if I touch all of the books, then somehow they have imparted their knowledge or creativity to me. I only buy books that are hardback and that still have perfect book jackets. No tears, no stains, no bent pages, no markings. Fresh, crisp, and still smelling of new quality paper. Are you a little disturbed by this? I promise that my love for them is wholesome. I have learned to appreciate the "USED" book. As long as it's still in decent shape, I'm there!! For Christmas this year, giving books made me the hero!! I was able to purchase a 1904 first edition copy of Uncle Remus Plantation Tales for my sister and an old Dick and Jane basal reader for my mother. It contained a picture that she's been trying to find for years. It came from a story she remembered as a little girl. A lot of searching went into that book. It took us 2 months to find a copy online. Anyway, as a teacher, my heart breaks when children leave my classroom and still haven't found that love of reading that I have. For all of you parents out there, read to children everyday. Make books a big deal. Teach them to cherish them, to prize them, and to love the imagination inside of them. When they're babies, buy them books they can chew on and read in the tub. Give them as gifts. Not all presents have to come with a plug. There are so many amazing characters that children today never get to know, because they don't read. How will children ever know how Caddie Woodlawn became friends with the Indians? How will they relate to Ramona and Beezus during one of their bouts of sibling rivalry? Will they ever find out if Chester the Cricket finds his way home to Connecticut? Or what actually happens to Mr. Popper's Penguins? Give your children a gift that will continue to bless them forever. Teach them to love to read! Let them see you reading something besides the bills, People magazine, or the back of the Hamburger Helper box. Children who read for pleasure are usually the smartest!! Don't be the kind of parent that lets your child watch the movie and never read the book. How sad! Proven by The Tale of Despereaux, the movie does not always follow the book. The book is always better. Olivia knows that it takes $7.50 to buy one of her favorite chapter books at Hastings. When she collects that much money, we know where she wants to go. It's truly a guilty pleasure for both of us. We each have our own book collection. Mine is arranged by author, standing neatly on a bookshelf. Hers is arranged by chaos, shoved on a bookshelf--usually backwards or upside down. I don't mind that as long as she's not destroying them. I'm just so glad she can be found in the quiet moments curled up in a big chair, under a lamp, and cradling a book.