Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.
Interpretation
Reading should be seen as an enjoyable and valuable experience for children, not a burden.
In this quote, Kate DiCamillo emphasizes the importance of presenting reading to children in a positive light. Instead of framing it as an obligatory task, she encourages parents and educators to convey the joy and value of reading, portraying it as a delightful gift that enriches a child's life and imagination.
In practice
A teacher might include this quote in a speech at a literacy event to inspire parents to encourage reading at home.
If you sit down and read with your kid, either having your child read to you or you reading to your child at a regular time each day, it deepens the relationship. You don't have to talk about stuff; the story will do that work for you.
I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.
If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.
I was lucky enough to have a mother who took me to the library - the public library - twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. And also bought me books. And also read aloud to me.
There is no right or wrong way to tell a story. You have to find your own way. You can get your idea from listening, looking, or imagining. Stories are everywhere. All you have to do is pay attention.
Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
My teacher told me I'd never amount to anything. I left high school at 15, after one year. But my real teachers were all the people around me. And I was a good listener.
For pity's sake, if you don't take a shine to a novel, there are loads more in the world; read something else. Continue suffering, and it's not the author's fault. It's yours.
Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
Do not ask if a man has been through college; ask if a college has been through him; if he is a walking university.
When I see kids standing next to their mothers at book signings, clutching a copy of 'Forever,' I know what's coming. They'll say to me, 'How old do I have to be to read this?' hoping I'll give them permission. But I can't do that.
Some teachers just have a knack for working with autistic children. Other teachers do not have it.
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