He Was Trying To Convince Himself That

There Is A Crisis Involving Reading In Certain Communities.

I Was Teased If I Brought My Books Home. I Would Take A Paper Bag To The Library And Put The Books In The Bag And Bring Them Home. Not That I Was That Concerned About Them Teasing Me - Because I Would Hit Them In A Heartbeat. But I Felt A Little Ashamed, Having Books.

We’re Suggesting That [kids Are] Missing Something If They Don’t Read But, Actually, We’re Condemning Kids To A Lesser Life. If You Had A Sick Patient, You Would Not Try To Entice Them To Take Their Medicine. You Would Tell Them, ‘take This Or You’re Going To Die.’ We Need To Tell Kids Flat Out: Reading Is Not Optional.

To Fight For One's Country, To Offer One's Very Life To Promote The Well Being Of The United States, Is Truly A Noble Undertaking. But So Is The Vigilance Of The Citizen Who Carefully Examines Our Leaders To See If Political Problems Are Being Solved By Wars Simply Because This Seems To Be The Easiest Solution.

Books Transmit Values. They Explore Our Common Humanity. What Is The Message When Some Children Are Not Represented In Those Books?