Home Library Promotes Future Love of Books & Reading For Children

When I was a kid and my parents would take us to my grandparent's place in upstate New York, I never failed to be impressed with my grandfather's private library. This included a stamp collection, which I also loved, and felt a bit to me like a miniature trip around the world, at least while perusing through his collection. His library and stamp collection were indeed impressive. Keep in mind that these were the days before the internet. So he accumulated that library and stamp collection without the benefit or convenience or often incredible prices available on the internet to us today.

The books were for grown ups, mostly. I knew that. But I dreamed of one day being able to get a private library of my own like that, as well as a stamp collection (in my specific case). Indeed, I have managed to do that, although it somehow does not feel quite as special or impressive as his own did. Later on, when no longer a kid, the diversity of the books proved impressive to me. There were books on science, which made sense, since he was a scientist. But there were other books, too. Literature, including from one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut. There were fairly modern books as well, books that I had heard spoken about in the mid to late-80's. My respect for his collection, and for him, deepened, even though he was gone.

That was something that I wanted to pass down to my own son, as well. It would be good if he saw books were valued, and if he saw me reading. He certainly saw my mother reading, and she reads a lot, quite possibly, because of her father's love of reading and learning.

So this article, which I almost stumbled on in Facebook, of all places, seemed pretty clear to me already. But it is good that scientific data is backing up what most of us probably long suspected. In this day and age, when so many of us can get lost for hours looking for the instant gratification of Youtube videos or other websites - often trashy - and social media, having something like real books to ground us feels more like a must than ever. 

Below is the link to the article, which I recommend:

A home library can have a powerful effect on children by Robby Berman, October 13, 2018:

A new study finds that simply growing up in a home with enough books increases adult literacy and math prowess.  ([John Jones])  KEY TAKEAWAYS A child growing up in a home with at least 80 books will have greater literacy and numeracy in adulthood. A home library can promote reading and math skills more than college alone can. Growing up in a pro-learning home leads to a lifetime of knowledge-seeking.  

https://bigthink.com/the-present/mind-brain-home-library-benefits/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2yl_vVm6K24usVPf90v0bZRMkFoz_r09Ysk5Fp__XS1Wodqp8EjtDWCd8#Echobox=1666934000