A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.
—George R. R. Martin
In her classic poem, “Tula [“Books are door-shaped”],” Margarita Engle describes books as “door-shaped portals,” which is as apt as it is beautiful. Books carry us across oceans and centuries, she writes, with the extra benefit of making us feel less alone. Stephen King’s line was that books are “uniquely portable magic.”
We want to give our kids access to this magic; we want them to walk through these portals. We want them to read.
That said, we need to be providing a good example. How often do your kids catch you reading? How often do they see you with a book in your hands? You want them to read, but do you read regularly to them? You tell them that books are important, that books are fun, but where is the evidence? If you want your kids to read more, if you want them to walk through those magical door-shaped portals, show them what a reader looks like. Talk to them about books. Make books a central part of your house . . . and your lives.