Next week I’ll return to chapter book reviews with a story about wishes that come true. This holiday week, I have a few wishes of my own:
- I wish that children everywhere have access to and receive nourishment: food and water, every day. *
- I wish the gift of reading on every person, young or old, in languages from Aari to Zuni. **
- I wish for every child to feel the comfort of books: in a cozy corner, in the lap of a loved one, in a classroom or under an open sky. The world of reading transforms, enriches, transports and accompanies us, and my wish is that children have this experience as they grow. ***
Happy holidays to all parents, teachers, writers and the children in our lives.
~Marty
* Find out more about helping children have access to water in south Sudan, as illustrated through Linda Sue Park’s middle grade novel, A Long Walk to Water.
** One of the many respected organizations attacking illiteracy in the far corners of the world is the Kibera School for Girls, a Shining Hope project. Another of their excellent programs remembers someone special in my heart, the Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic.
*** Another notable non profit that advocates literacy is Reach Out and Read, in which doctors “prescribe” books by sending one book home with a child at each visit from age six months through five years, encouraging families to read together.
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