One Book, Two Books, Potter Books, Twilight Books!

Read Across America Day is held in conjunction with the March 2nd birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known to millions of families as the famous author, Dr. Seuss.  It is so appropriate considering how Dr. Seuss books are often among the first in any child's book collections.   My three daughters each grew up reading "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", a book I vividly remember my own mother reading to me when I was about four or five.  The wonderful drawings captivated me, they were so different than any other drawings in children's books. 

Ever since I became a parent, it has been important for me to find books that my children will love and to have them grow up with a life long passion for reading. While TV, video games and the internet are part of their everyday life, reading is something that cannot be duplicated in any other way.  It makes their imagination soar, increases their vocabulary, and educates them even if they don't realize it.  Books such as the Rick Riordon series, "Percy Jackson," incorporate Greek mythology and are now a family favorite.  Once my daughters got hold of this series, they could not wait to obtain each successive book.  It's a treat for them to add more books to their own library that they will one day read to their children. 

Once we find an author or genre they like, they have a passion for reading.  It takes them into another world, a world where they expand their imagination, their creativity and their enjoyment of reading. 

Not surprisingly, the first series that captivated my children was the Harry Potter series, which my mother introduced to my eldest daughter when it was first published.  Once the movies came out, my other daughters became fans, and soon wanted to read the books.   All three of them have read the entire series more than once.  They have their own book collection of the series, and were so interested in the geography that when we took our first trip as a family to Europe, we had to be sure to visit London and Oxford to see locales that the movie was filmed and encounter areas that inspired the book. 

Now that they are all immersed in the Percy Jackson series, we need to plan a trip to Greece!

In honor of Dr. Seuss, I have to write my own prose:

One book, two books, Potter Books, Twilight Books!

Some from the library, some brand new.

Some books are hard for me to part, others have evil characters like Voldemort.

Why are some about vampires and demons?  I don't know, go ask your librarian.

Some are magical and full of sorcery, others are scary and have a glossary.

From there to here, from here to there, funny words everywhere.

Here are some for those who cook.  Many, many books I took.

Oh me! Oh my!
Oh me! Oh my!

What alot of funny things to read.

Where do they come from?

I cannot say.

But I bet they have come a long, long way.

We see them shelved at Borders,
We see them piled up by book horders.
Some are like treasures,
All give us pleasure.

Can I buy another?
Go ask your mother.

Thanks, Dr. Seuss, for encouraging my family to read.  The cartoon above is by my daughter, Danielle.  An avid reader and future book illustrator!