I don’t have a small shelf
Anywhere in my room
With piles of colourful books,
Dust jackets as decoration
And spines in a rainbow
That falls from the ceiling
To the shelf on the floor.
There’s a McDonalds advert on in the UK at the moment and it makes me incredibly sad because it says that one in five children don’t own a book. As an English teacher, I am not surprised by that statistic, but I am still saddened.
I was trying to imagine what my life would actually be like without books, and how awful it must be as a kid, to not have an adult that prioritizes books over things like cigarettes and booze.
Socially, there are probably much bigger things we can be tackling, but I am glad that McDonalds is trying to do something, because with books we understand each other a little more – and I think that is the first step in sorting out those bigger issues.
And don’t forget, that a room without books looks incredibly dull. Books and their covers are artforms in themselves. I don’t think I could live without their rainbow spines adorning my shelves.
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
I believe that anything we can do to bring books into people’s homes is a good thing, Rachel. All of the research supports the advantages that people who are readers have. And books are just as good for the soul as they are for the mind. I’m glad McDonald’s is doing something, although I always wonder about a company that does something charitable – what’s their agenda? Still, I hope that it all means more kids reading.
Greg Dennison
This
crispina kemp
I have visited people’s homes and seen not a hint of a book. I remember one of my daughter’s friends looked at my bookshelves and asked if all those books were mine. When I answered yes, she said, “I had a book once. Pictures of kittens.” I picked out a book I thought might be suitable as a starter, and gave it to her. So sad.