I asked my mother if she learned to read at an early age. As a matter of fact, she didn’t. She developed an appreciation of reading through the other key component of the learning-to-read process—her teachers. Their respect for books impacted her so much that—flash forward seventy years— she now buys about twenty books a month reads them and returns for more.

Now that’s an avid reader, and a great example of how a teacher or librarian can have a lasting impact on a student. Who knew how my mother’s story would turn out?

Here’s a big “thank you” to my mother’s dedicated teachers for the great thing that happened when they believed reading mattered.