The Power of Reading
Welcome back incredible Bookduck fans! Books are our best friends, you can always talk to them and learn a lot of new things from them. April loves to read too, and today we'll listen to her speech on Ted Talk about the power of reading.
One day, April got the biggest and best present ever, of her life.
After reading her books every night since she was about two, her mom opened a children's bookstore. April still remembers the day she stepped into the warm, lovely place, sunshine glowing on the bookshelves, and she smelled the scent of books. And she still remembers the happy moment when her mom read a book for her. Time passed, and April grew from a little kid who was often mistaken for a boy to a big girl. Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts April’s mom ever gave her. Although running a bookstore isn’t always a good choice for making money, April’s mom never regrets quitting her high-salary job and devoting herself to the small bookstore. She is very proud of her work, which brings a passion for reading to April and other children.
Surrounded by books, April is passionate about reading. Wherever she goes, she carries a book with her. She reads in restaurants while waiting for food.
She reads on the subway on her way to school. She also reads every night before bed. Reading means traveling through time, visiting places you would never know, and immersing yourself in a world of imagination, adventure, and discovery.
Take, for example, the book “Alice in Wonderland”. When she reads this book, she falls in love with Alice in Wonderland. It's so weird, so obvious. There the rabbits can talk, they can play cards, they can watch, and the cats can disappear at will.
While April was reading this book, her mind kept wanting to go back to Wonderland and experience all this nonsense again.
So she painted a picture. She drew the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar on a giant mushroom and a girl.
So in the book, you can see a bored Alice follow the rabbit and slide into Wonderland, whereas, in the real world, the book can always take you away from the boredom of everyday life and into the magical world.
For example, we can take a “Magical school bus” to explore the human body, or we can escape to nature by reading Fabre's “Book of Insects.”
We might even go back to ancient Greece or Rome in the “Horrible Tales” series. With a book, we can go anywhere and be anyone.
Reading is also a good way for us to connect with others. It's amazing how when you're reading a book on a train, a stranger next to you says,
"Hey, I love that book too."
This is a true story between April and her friend Yoyo.
They then immediately started a discussion about the characters in that book.
Yoyo's mom and April's mom also found that they had a lot in common.
Last year, their families took a trip to Singapore together. They went to a big bookstore and spent half a day there.
This is not the only story.
When she shares fun "Did you know?" book facts with her friends or helps other readers her age find the book that's just right for them, they build up relationships and get to know each other better. Also, when parents read to their children, it brings back good memories from their own childhood.
April’s beloved author is Roald Dahl, whose hilarious, breathtaking books are so attractive that she doesn't even want the story to end.
April has read all of his books for children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, The BFG, and many others.
When asked in an interview, "How do you get your story ideas?"
the author answered, "I always start with a little seed of an idea, a little germ. Every time I get a great idea, I would pull out a notebook and write it down, or else it would disappear like a dream."
These tips helped April a lot when she first started writing. She uses her idea notebook to write down her seeds of ideas.
And in the stories of The Minpins, Roald Dahl told readers, "Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places."
April was inspired when she read this. She took it as advice not only from a great author but also from a wise man who had a deep understanding of our world.
Just like Roald Dahl's character the BFG, Big Friendly Giant, whose job was to collect and blow pleasant dreams to small children, Roald Dahl, Bill Bryson, Sheldon Allan Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, and other writers, had blown big dreams to April and every second reader.
April dreamed that one day, she could make magic of her own as an author, for herself, her friends, her kids, and other children.
She will keep on reading and writing every day and, above all, keep watching with glittering eyes the whole world around her, just like Roald Dahl.
And there's one thing April knows for sure: reading will be a life-long love for her. She reads because loving one life is just not enough.
To sum up, we can say that reading can light up the whole world. So, why not surround yourself with books, sit quietly and enjoy the words, the pictures, and how they fit together so beautifully?
