Why Books are Important

The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information.


The more young children are read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally.


Reading, by way of books, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. When adults read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the words on the page, even if they can't yet read the words on their own.


Reading Can Open Up New Worlds and Enrich Children's Lives
Reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical. Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see reading as a source of information, then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present.



However, children in third world countries are not fortunate enough to have easy access to libraries, computers and bookstores. This is why providing books and computers can be the very basis for changing the lives of these children, opening up untold possibilities and breaking the cycle of poverty. Getting them the tools is the first step. The next step is to be sure these tools are fully utilized. But lets not put the cart before the horse. Making reading material available to the children is the first step and we can move forward from there.