“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.”
In our celebration of book month, aren’t we a bit out of touch with the future of learning information? After all, what is the value of reading for pleasure in an age which has visual recreational delights designed to charge and stimulate adrenalin? Even books are now on digital devices.
May I suggest that the power of words, well chosen and creatively hung together, create a feast for the imagination which stimulates all sorts of brain cells left dormant by the viewing of rapidly flitting images across a screen. They hold forth values of excellence and nobility in plots that capture the mind and enlarge the heart. These well-written stories inspire children with hope. They teach children to pay attention to detail. Well written stories make them think about meanings that are deeper than appear in the plot. They help make the world make sense by portraying characters who struggle with evil and make choices based on the ultimate triumph of good. Stories like these also teach us how to express what we feel in words. They encourage an expanded vocabulary. They encourage thinking.
In short, the power of language coupled with the force of adventure found in excellent literature, provides an experience that once cultivated, rivals anything the video screen could produce!
May I encourage you to read to your children while they are little and don’t stop because they get old. Those family moments of shared experiences become part of the family story that you will create. Rightly, you will build in them the delight in “beautiful words which remind us of realities that we cannot see.”
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