They're awesome. Here's why.
I went to my husband’s classroom last week. Or maybe two weeks ago. Or it might have been at the beginning of August. It doesn’t matter.
Because in his room, shelves line the entire back wall. These shelves hold magic. These shelves hold books. New worlds. Funny people I want to meet and cry with and laugh with and hug. Mean girls I want to see fall on their faces. Magicians. Boys who can draw terrible things and fly like the wind and ride horses and save kingdoms.
Classrooms house joy. They house printed books. None of the students have e-readers or Kindle’s or discuss if books should come in different formats. They hold power in their hands. They hold books.
And that is why books will always be published in the traditional way. For there is no thrill in lightly running your finger down the spine of your Kindle. Or flipping the pages of your iPhone. Or opening a new book and breathing in the scent that is unmistakably wonder.
So this Thursday, I am thankful. For books, in all their varieties. For teachers and students and parents who buy books. For authors who write them. Publishers who print them.
What are you thankful for?
I love a good book . . . and I love my Kindle. I'm with you on the smell and feel of books. Have you read Abarat by Clive Barker? The pages are heavy stock, very slick and shiny. I seriously bought the book 80% for the pages, and 20% because it sounded interesting. : ) I bought 'The 13th Book" for pretty much the same reason - the feel of the pages. They were just different than an ordinary book.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, I'm thankful for books, and I'm thankful for my Kindle which adds a world of convenience to my life. : )
S
Nothing better than a teacher who loves teaching and who loves literature and who tries to bring the two together.
ReplyDeleteVery thankful for those same things, indeed.
I am soooo grateful for teachers who spread the love of books and I sure remember of few of my own who did. Have you seen this KindlevsBook video, hilarious...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8FnVlcRT4A&feature=related
Thankful for librarians!
ReplyDeleteDitto that!
ReplyDeleteI'll add bookstores to the list because otherwise we'd have nowhere to get our hands on these wonderful little self-contained universes.
I was in my son's Kindergarten class a few weeks ago and was thrilled when my 2-year-old ran over to the bookcase, picked out a book, then sat on the floor "reading" it for the next 20 minutes. She was turning the pages and saying the story out loud - which she was, of course, making up by the pictures. I love schools - it's also a great place to pick up how children play and speak to each other.
ReplyDeleteWhat am I grateful for? Teachers for sure - my mom was a Reading Recovery teacher until she retired. Plus, anyone that can manage 20+ 5-year-olds without losing their mind has my undying gratitude. :)
i'm thankful for job interviews! got the call yesterday! will interview tuesday before i leave for conference wednesday, so it all worked out. :)
ReplyDeleteand i'm with about the books. i love turning pages in a book...although kindle for iphone is way cool.
jeannie
The Character Therapist
I am VERY thankful for teachers, especially the ones who encouraged my writing and didn't try to curb my enthusiasm for the written word.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I LOVE books. The smell of them, the way the pages feel between my fingers, just how TANGIBLE it is. When I travel I take so many with me, though, I probably should convert, but I can't. I feel like even considering that is a betrayal to the BOOK! :D
i AGREE!!!! books just have there own smell. and nothing beats breaking open the binding of a brand new book and smelling that smell (much better than that new car smell, in my opnion!) never can have enough books!
ReplyDeleteLOL so glad to know I'm not the only one who enjoys sniffing my books ;) My husband looks at me like I'm crazy when I open a book and bring the pages to my face, inhaling that glorious scent :D
ReplyDeleteI am also very VERY thankful for teachers, both those who have taught and inspired me in the past, and those that are doing the same for my children now. I am especially thankful because while my kids' teachers are teaching them, I get a few precious hours to myself to spend writing my own books :D
DITTO! I went to my son's kindergarten class on Tuesday, and there is a whole reading nook, with books galore, and comfy seats, and plenty of pillows to lay on. I think I want to go back to kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great thing to be thankful for. My daughter is in 2nd grade and she loves to visit the library--at school and our public one. I love that books can hold such magic and intrigue.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Elana. I agree whole-heartedly. Real books will never be replaced by a Kindle in my world. There is no better experience than sitting down to read a book, feeling the pages under your fingertips as you walk through their world.
ReplyDeleteThere is something special about holding a book. Thanks for reminding me! :O)
ReplyDeleteIt's true there is something special about an actual book in your hands. I love books and probably learned it in elementary school. Way to go teachers! =)
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for your blog because you make me smile. Cheesy, but hey, thought you should get a kudos. Besides that I am thankful for about a million authors and their words and worlds. And for the internet... so we can write and share stuff like this because this kind of interaction was impossible for the generations prior to ours...
ReplyDeleteI love books too...but today I am thankful for the people in my life that bring a little more joy to the planet...people like you :D
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful that books surround me every day at work. Teachers are cool, too...especially my little dude's first grade teacher.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for all my writer friends :)
ReplyDeleteYay to books in ALL of their marvelous and ingenious formats. Because it's the joy of reading that truly matters.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful my husband has a job! And also that my 7 year old has discovered the magic in books. Thank you, Magic Treehouse!
ReplyDeleteThis oddly profound post. Woot.
ReplyDeleteToo many things to count! I love books, and collect old books. I love the colors, the smell, (who besides and avid reader know the 'smell' of a book...), the paper, etc. I've toyed with the Kindle idea, because I would LOVE to take my entire library with me, but I almost feel like I"m being unfaithful to the printed word....what a conundrum! Thanks for this post! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi, Elana. First let me say thank you for becoming my 11th blog follower. Go #11!
ReplyDeleteI just left teaching after 12 glorious years (now I am a national educational coach of teachers). Ten of those years were spent teaching 6th grade Language Arts - so I can completely relate to the one wall lined with book shelves - same way in my room.
Like you, I think books hold tremendous power and when the teacher believes that, and inspires his/her students to believe that, and really understand that, well, then the teacher has done their job.
Inspiration is the key to make that happen. Enthusiasm, knowledge, humor and kindness have the power to ignite inspiration up like an M-80; then there is no turning back. Ka-boom! Once you're hooked on reading you never go back.
Great thought!
ReplyDeletei'm thankful for the time and the mind and the desire to read books (and of course write them, too).
Same here. Now all I need is more time to read them! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd if you drop your paperback in the bathtub, it's 7 bucks to replace. I don't think Kindle and bathtubs agree.
ReplyDelete