Amid the push to excellence, with its measurement and accountability, it is easy to lose sight of a key ingredient in reading a book - the pleasure it bring us, something too many boil down to a dirty word: FUN.

The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four - of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.

Students who read the most also read the best, achieve the most, and stay in school the longest. Conversely, those who dont read much cannot get better at it.

Story is the vehicle we use to make sense of our lives in a world that often defies logic.

Every time we read to a child, we're sending a 'pleasure' message to the child's brain. You could even call it a commercial, conditioning the child to associate books and print with pleasure.

We have instant pudding, instant photos, instant coffee—but there are no instant adults.

Neither books nor people have Velcro Sides -- there must be a bonding agent -- someone who attaches child to book.