I promote reading!

This is not much of a homesteading topic, but one that is near and dear to me. Reading. I guess you can tie this into homesteading right? You have to be able to read seed packets, animal husbandry books and the like. Some of my earliest memories are of being read too. Today is the birthday of one of my favorite children authors, Dr. Seuss.

 <--------------See? This was my birthday last year, the big 40! I had a Seuss theme for it. Yeah, I am a big kid at heart. Maybe that is why I have a degree in Early Childhood Education and Development.

But I digress...

Today not only is Dr. Seuss' birthday, it also marks "Reading Across America." The movement is to promote reading and literacy. Honestly I do not know what I would do without being able to read. Reading is so much more than just gathering valuable information. Reading takes you places, from the world of Narnia, to Victorian England of Jane Austen. Besides being out in the garden, my other favorite place is in a book store or the library. I love the smell of old and new books. When I was teaching I bought so many books, that by the time my children were born, we had a extensive library. The joys of hearing a child put the phonemic sounds of speech together, creating words and then the moment they realize that they just read. It is one of the most fulfilling things for me. Truly, a gift.

To promote Reading Across America, I want to share one of my favorite books. It is a children's book (of course) and one that I think everyone should have in their home. Oh, and of course it is farm related, so I guess this post does reflect "homesteading."


Here it is....

  Yes, the author is Carly Simon the singer. Which for me was another bonus! I happened upon this book years before I had children. I fell in love with it. My copy has went through four children, and a few classrooms of preschoolers, so it is a bit beat up. But that gives it "character."



The illustrations are something straight out of my dreams. David Delamare illustrated it. I said if I ever wrote a book, I would use him.

Here is an excerpt:


"One night in July
We woke to hoots and howls-
It sounded nothing lie a nightingale
Nothing like an owl.
We looked out the window
And the sea was very calm
But the joint was jumping
On our Martha's Vineyard farm.
Just when you'd expect
Every living thing to doze
Vegetables and flowers
Were putting on their clothes."