If you think reading is important...

...you're absolutely right!

I've been blessed with two little boys that absolutely love books. They have so many, we don't even have places to put them all. Nick can read very well, and at quite an advanced level for his age. He reads himself to sleep each night and begs to go to the library every weekend. Ben is just learning to read, which is as exciting for me as it is for him. He tries reading signs, books, packaging labels, and more. While he doesn't understand the text just yet, he spends a lot of time looking at books even after being tucked into bed at night. They don't know yet (of course), but "Santa" has picked out some very special books this year just for them!

I was a big fan of reading when I was younger and my parents always made sure I had plenty of books in my known interest areas. Oddly enough, my favorite books from 5th grade on was a set of medical encyclopedias my parents owned. They're (more than) out of date now, but my mom still has them sitting on a bookshelf at her house today, and every time I see them I go right back to those days of laying on my bed on a warm, sunny Saturday reading through the text and studying the diagrams in the medical encyclopedias.

I've never really considered books to be a "gift" - I had so many of them as a child that it always seemed 'normal' to me to have many to choose from anytime I felt like reading. I've had to group the boys' books into age-appropriate (or rather, reading-level appropriate) books, because they have so many they won't even fit on the bookshelf in their room. Even my 5 month old daughter has a stack of books, all her own!

Last night, I saw a commercial on TV. The boys were watching a show on Noggin, and a heart-grabbing PSA aired during the commercial break.

The PSA, featuring Cedric the Entertainer, as well as information about the Noggin Get Ready To Read Campaign, can be viewed here.

There are so many children who don't have the blessing of a book to read. Not a single book. For whatever reason, they haven't been given the same opportunities to learn and to grow as so many other children. We sit here, in our warm, cozy house, with more books than we can even count, while there are children who have never read a book in their life. The very thought of that is incredibly sad to me... and the tear-jerking PSA did more than a little tugging at my heart-strings as well.

This week, we'll be finding a way to donate some of our unused books to children in need. If you have books collecting dust, I encourage you to do the same. It doesn't take much of your time, and won't take ANY of your money. With Christmas right around the corner, give the gift of literacy to another child. They'll never forget it.