Thankful XXIX

Fav book as a kid

Books.

Books are definitely something I have taken for granted all my life. First I was one of those kids lucky enough to grow up going to library storytime. In fact one of the best little kid pics of me is me grinning and clutching a reading certificate from the library. Can you say awesome?

Since my teen years I've been on a mission to have my own library. Public libraries are great and all but I like to write in my books and I really don't like to give them back. ...And I was really jealous of the way Belle from Beauty and the Beast got to swing around the library on a ladder. Thus I clearly need my own personal library and ladder.

Recently though my love for and constantly great access to books has been contrasted by an increasing awareness of kids who do not have books. This summer I heard about the United Way of Lake County which did a book drive for their community in response to the fact that 76% of incoming kindergarteners did not have books in their homes. I immediately started buying books as baby shower presents - my friends' kids will not be a statistic!

A local author and my most recent read

I thought about all the kids without books tonight as I went through my THREE overflowing bookshelves to donate to the book giveaway portion of the upcoming Coats for Kids Junior League event. (Short version: kids whose families could not otherwise afford it go home with both a coat and a book.)

I'm glad I can give these kids new books to read. Hopefully they'll discover a book that they just love and one day will tell their friends about how they too are thankful for books.