Although I enjoy digging through the library to help students find books, my aim is to help them develop self-confidence in choosing books for themselves.

Our children shouldn't have to wait for adulthood to become wild readers. For many, it will be too late.

Students will read if we give them the books, the time, and the enthusiastic encouragement to do so. If we make them wait for the one unit a year in which they are allowed to choose their own books and become readers, they may never read at all. To keep our students reading, we have to let them.

Books are love letters (or apologies) passed between us, adding a layer of conversation beyond our spoken words.

If we value all readers, we must value all reading.

By believing that only some of our students will ever develop a love of books and reading, we ignore those who do not fall into books and reading on their own. We renege on our responsibility to teach students how to become self-actualized readers. We are selling our students short by believing that reading is a talent and that lifelong reading behaviors cannot be taught.

Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the confines of school and pursue your own education. Through characters - the saints and the sinners, real or imagined - reading shows you how to be a better human being.