Happy Banned Books Week!

When she was in first grade, she struggled.  She was a reluctant reader and she did not find joy in books.  I bent over backwards looking for anything that would spark her interest.   Nothing worked.  And then it occured to me.  She just didn't know.  She really didn't get it.

"Do you want to know the secret to reading?" I asked her, "Do you?  Because I can tell you, but you just can't tell your friends.  Do you want to hear it?"

That peaked her interest.  "Yes" she replied.

I looked both ways to make sure that there weren't any adults around.  Even now I consider it one of those renegade parent moments.  Am I proud of it?  Yes.  Was it a gamble?  Yes. I got lucky.  It could have easily backfired.

"OK, here it is.  When you learn to read, you can learn about anything you want, even stuff that grownups don't want you to know about.  When you read on your own, that's all you.  Nobody can take that away from you."

Her eyes lit up and I watched her process it.  She got it.  She really did.  She was always pushing the envelope so I knew this would create some appeal.  Little did I know how far it would take her.

She's now in the 7th grade reading at a high school/college level and she's up to her eyeballs in the good stuff.  She has a lifetime of pleasurable reading ahead of her and many more years to push that envelope.

So in honor of her and all the other reluctant readers out there, happy Banned Books Week. May you find that book that you fall in love with and may it take you to strange and interesting worlds.