Books nearly made me drop out of school in first grade.
I'd learned to read early, but my school had strict library rules, and though
I was bored to tears by Dick and Jane, the second- and third-grade books were
off limits. So I took to phoning my great-grandfather from school each morning.
I'd complain of headache, he'd come get me, and we'd play and read happily at
his house each day.
Though Gramps never ratted me out, after several weeks our ruse was discovered,
and the outcome was one of the great triumphs of my
life.
When I explained to my mom and dad that I didn't like school because they
wouldn't let me read there, they transferred me to another public school. On
my first day, the teacher marched me into the school library. "Do you see
this child?" she asked the librarian. "This child is allowed to read
any book she wants to." At that moment, I was seven feet tall, and my education
was secured.
If you've taken a Cure,
you'll know that one of its central tenets is that your home has energy in it
that is unlocked when you work on it, and novelist Masha
Hamilton has given me a great way to unlock the energy on my bookshelves
and put it to good use giving other people access to a library.
She'll be reading
from her new novel, The
Camel Bookmobile, tomorrow at 7 at McNally Robinson, but there's a
real camel bookmobile, a portable library for pastoralists:
It operates from Garissa in Kenya’s isolated Northeastern
Province near the unstable border with Somalia. Initially launched with three
camels on Oct. 14, 1996, the library now uses 12 camels traveling to four
settlements per day, four days per week. The camels bring books to a semi-nomadic
people who live with drought, famine and chronic poverty. The books are spread
out on grass mats beneath an acacia tree, and the library patrons, often barefoot,
sometimes joined by goats or donkeys, gather with great excitement to choose
their books until the next visit.
The Camel Book Drive is
set up to support the bookmobile's efforts, and on that site you can see pictures
and a video
and get all the information if you'd like to donate
either books or funds for a new tent to protect library patrons from the desert
sun.
(To
All Meditations)
Photo credits: Briana Orr and Masha Hamilton
We take so much for granted!
view patrick (the other one)'s profile
When I was younger, I told my parents I was only going to school long enough to learn how to read the newspaper-I figured once I learned to read, I could learn anything I wanted to. When I was 6 I taught my 4 year old brother to read- and everything else I learned in first grade. When my brother went to school my parents made sure that he had a large supply of books available to him. Reading is one of the most important lessons to learn, if not the most important. Once you can read, a whole world opens up to you and no one should have that world closed off.
view lorijo's profile
Going to the school library was also an important part of my early childhood. Unfortunately, with funds being cut for both school and local libraries, I wonder how many more generations will get to have the same excitement. I learned about everything from how to use some of the first personal computers (our school library got five Apple desktops that I begged to use... thus turning me into a lifelong Mac user) to the fundamentals of engineering in a library. Similar to what Lorigo said above, the knowledge that can be gained through reading and a good access to a good library should be available to everyone.
http://www.culturalrevolutionary.com/
view Marlaina's profile
I love your story. I spent many long hot humid summer afternoons inside the cool AC of my public library just browsing through books. The library system we have in the U.S. is incredible...(and Portland OR libraries, in particular, rock!).
In particular, the Portland library website allows me to maintain a books queue online like other people maintain a NETFLIX queue.
view JenPDX's profile
when i was young, my parents soon realized that it was impossible to punish me (on the rare occasion i did something i wasn't supposed to...HA!). no tv...ok, i'll read a book, can't play with your friends...ok, i'll read a book, can't do blah blah blah...ok, i'll read a book. what were they going to do, not let me read? yeah right.
now that's it's almost summer, i get to look forward to the used book store 'dates' that my husband and i have. yea!
um, and can i mention how jealous i am of the Portland library queue?
view bbt's profile
Great post. I was the only first grader allowed to break those time-honored elementary school library rules...being allowed to get non-early reader books was the best moment of that school year. If I was quiet, my parents knew I was lost to the world in a book.
Why does MY library not have a queue? Hmmph.
view Renee's profile
Your library might have a queue! A lot of library catalogs have that feature - you just might now know it exists.
I know I'm a little late on this, but as a librarian that avidly reads this site I wanted to add my $.02. I hope you remember that not only should every child have access to great books, but that librarians are often the last bastion keeping those books in their school and public libraries. There are legions of groups out there that are hoping to ban hundreds of books from libraries that they don't want your kids to read. Make sure you talk to your librarian and school administration, and let them know you support the right for your child to read any book they choose.
Sorry. Rant over. Back to Eames.
view ShowLola's profile
I assume a library queue is like a reserve system where you sign up to have certain books reserved to you, in order of signup. If you don't have a reserve system, how the heck do you read what and when you want to read without it being a complete crapshoot? I can't imagine not being able to get books on reserve--I'd never be able to read anything current without spending buckets of money.
I'm completely appalled. You queue-less (not a pun, really...) library users need to give your local library boards a stern talking-to. In my city's library system, the reserve shelves in some branches are what see the most use.
view Mlle Kate's profile
Perhaps the greatest gift my mother ever gave me, among many wonderful gifts, was the gift of reading! It has seen me well over the years, I use my local library so often I've worn out my library card twice, and the bonus of the local library is that it helps me keep my own home visually more restful and a bit more clutter-free (perfect for ATaholics).
A favorite group sets up libraries for children all around the World, has done several thousand so far, well worth sharing if you haven't heard of them:
http://www.roomtoread.org/
view Rucy's profile