Celebrating Children’s Book Week (May 3-9)
By Janice Surlin
“Facebook” is great for keeping in touch,
Sharing whatever, expounding, and such—
But the “book” part of “Facebook” is really the clue
To what is essential for me, and I hope you!
I believe all of us are familiar with this,
A saying about which I shall reminisce—
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,”
BUT . . .
Reading each day keeps brain cobwebs at bay!**
Stressing how important books and reading are,
To a whole week in May I give a gold star—
The year 1919 is when it began,
Of “Children’s Book Week” I’m a very big fan!***
The longest running literacy program in the USA,
When reading starts early it leads off the way
To a lifetime of knowledge, pleasure, and more . . .
To a whole world of wonders it opens the door.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ words I recall,
Into her arena of reading advocacy I fall:
“There are many ways to enlarge your child’s world,
[And] the love of books is the best of all.”
Libraries soon will reopen, CHEERS! HURRAY!
For bibliophiles it will be a red-letter day!
And for children too, sitting at tables, in nooks,
To discover the incredible joy of books!
A few facts about libraries, your forbearance I adjure,
The world “library” comes from Latin, “liber”—
It’s actual meaning, “the inner bark of trees,”
The oldest operating library in the world,
If you please,
To take an adventurous trip to see,
Saint Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai,
Existing since 565 CE;
While McDonald’s in the United States is definitely ubiquitous—
There are more libraries than Golden Arches,
Food for the mind, not so ridiculous! ****
Two fascinating stories about young folks who write and read,
One the youngest published author, and the other who reads
With amazing speed;
At the age of 4, a book Dorothy Straight wrote and drew,
In response to her mother’s question “Who made the world?”
In 1962;
Titled “How the World Began,” in one evening it was done,
Her parents loved it so much a search to publish was begun—
In 1964, by Pantheon Books, Dorothy Straight got her due,
Receiving praise from none other than a Kirkus Book Review!
Maria Teresa Calderon, a fifteen-year old from the Philippines,
Can read 80,000 words per minute, and this is what it means:
She has 100% comprehension and, in 1968,
Read a 3-page, 3,135 word college essay—
In 3.5 seconds was her rate!
An average person, in comparison, reads about 250-300
Words a minute,
With comprehension of around a 70% limit.
Of the benefits to reading there is an extensive list,
For children and adults, throughout a lifetime they persist:
Improves focus, and increases vocabulary,
Comprehension, empathy, and memory too,
Reduces stress and muscle tension—just to name a few;
There appears to be a connection to reading and success,
In a study of 1,200 wealthy people, each one did profess
To reading as a favorite pastime, daily more or less.
With more research on reading these results are bound
To grab our attention with what they’ve found:
It could be the “elixir” to extending our life span—
With staying physically active we can add this to the plan!*****
One of America’s children’s and young adult authors of note,
Beverly Cleary’s words I am inspired to quote:
“If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf,
[Why not go and] write it [yourself]” —
Advice I take and for which I vote!
From “The Boxcar Children” to “Winnie the Pooh,”
“Charlotte’s Web” and “Nancy Drew” . . . .
The long list of books read from youth and beyond,
Definitely show that of reading I’m fond—
And how I caught the writing bug,
[Better than the Covid kind, totally ugh!]
So here’s one of mine I candidly plug:
The book’s 51 animals from A to Z
Are rhymed for fun alphabetically—
Illustrated beautifully by an artist teen,
A meaningful message at the poem’s end will be seen;
To be read with children, but there’s a section for
Adults, with fascinating facts and information more
To share with youngsters and discuss—
How taking care of each other, the animals
And the environment is all up to us.
This final quote may be anonymous, but indubitably true—
“We lose ourselves in books [and] find ourselves there too.”
*By Margaret Fuller (1810-1850—died returning to America
from Europe when her ship capsized): American journalist,
editor, writer, literary critic; first female full-time book reviewer
in journalism; first female editor of a major intellectual journal;
first woman allowed to use the Harvard College Library.
**MRI scans show that reading involves a complex
network of circuits and signals in the brain. “As
reading ability matures, those networks also
get stronger and more sophisticated.” Scans also
show that throughout the reading period, and
for days afterward, brain connectivity increased.
***So important it occurs twice a year: May 3-9 and
November 8-14.
****There are about 121,000 libraries (including 16,766 public libraries) and 14,157 McDonald’s.
*****A long-term health and retirement study that followed
almost 4,000 adults for a period of 12 years “found that those
who read books survived around 2 years longer than those
who either didn’t read or who read magazines and other
forms of media. The same study concluded that people who
read more than 3-1/2 hours every week were 23% likely to
live longer than those who don’t read at all. “
