READING FOR LIFE

In our Sunday paper, there is an insert magazine called PARADE. This past Sunday they had an interview of sorts with author James Patterson.

Here is the opening to the article:
“The best-selling novelist James Patterson has written 44 books, which have sold an estimated 130 million copies worldwide. He’s also the first author to have his books occupy the No. 1 spots on both the adult and children’s best-seller lists at the same time. PARADE asked Patterson what present he’d most like to give his son this holiday season. Here’s his reply--in a letter to 9-year-old Jack.”

Here are a few excerpts from the article:
“I have something grand to tell you--not dreaded advice or a boring lecture, just something cool as ice that I want to share. It’s a gift from your old dad--maybe the best one I’ll ever give you.

. . .

“Jack, I want you to become a passionate reader for life, and not because you have to or because it might make you more successful or get you into Harvard or Stanford. I’m talking about real passion here, like the way you currently go crazy over The Simpsons and The Incredibles.

. . .

“A great French writer named Gustave Flaubert once said, ‘It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance . . . I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves, and I was also the horses, the wind, the words my people uttered.’ Jack, that’s how I feel when I write, and it’s also how you’ll feel when you read a great book. It’s truly one of the best things in life!

. . .

“I believe that getting you to read is my responsibility, my job. In fact, it’s the responsibility of all parents, grandparents and teachers. That’s why I’m doing my homework now and searching for some terrific books that I know you’ll love.”

This article in its entirety is found in PARADE magazine, December 16, 2007 issue, pages 22-24. I’m not sure what else they may have at their website www.parade.com; however, they end the article with a blurb about sharing your own favorite books for kids.

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