Syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson, aka Ask Amy posted a great idea last week. Working alongside the Family Reading Partnership, she has launched a campaign called “A Book on Every Bed.” You can read about it here.
The idea is to give a book to a child this year, wrap it and place it on his or her bed, so that it’s the first gift they see on Christmas morning, before the thrill of the latest video game or gadget takes over.
I love this idea. Amy talks about her first book, Green Eggs and Ham. Although I can’t remember my first book, I remember the book my older brother gave me for my eighth birthday: The Complete Adventures of Paddington – in hardback. I still love that book and I will never part with it. I don’t remember anything else I got for my birthday that year, but I remember my brother giving me that book.
Even though we don’t have children of our own, we can still have an influence on other people’s children. If you have a child in your life, consider giving them a book this year. It might not make you the most popular person now, but years from now, when the toys and games have broken and been tossed away, your book will be still be appreciated.
This is a lovely idea! We gave books to all the nieces/nephews last year. I think we will give a few this year, too, but we have no control over putting them on the bed!
My favorite gifts to receive were ALWAYS books. We just bought two books for my nephew last night (he’s almost four). I was kind of thinking that could be my tradition to pass to him.