| Heya <<First Name>>,
This is kind of a sequel to last week’s email about how it’s okay to skip the boring bits when you read.
French author Daniel Pennac wrote a little gem of a book called “Better Than Life,” which is partly a memoir and partly a celebration of reading.
Daniel Pennac.
At the end of the book, he includes a reader’s bill of rights, which he introduces with this message:
“If we want our sons, our daughters, all young people to read, we must grant them the same rights we grant ourselves.”
Here are the rights he suggests we grant our children and ourselves:
- You have the right to not read.
- You have the right to skip pages.
- You have the right to not finish a book.
- You have the right to reread.
- You have the right to read anything.
- You have the right to escapism.
- You have the right to read anywhere.
- You have the right to browse.
- You have the right to read out loud.
- You have the right to not defend your tastes.
It feels to me like the more we embrace these rights, the less reading becomes something we and our kids should do and more something we all can’t wait to do.
And as much as I dislike the word “should,” I do feel like reading should be pleasurable. Because when it is, the better chance we have to win our children over to the deep and durable rewards of the printed word.
Happy reading,
Jeff and Bob …
… who believe that reading with kids can change the world for the better |
