Christmas - a time to read

During Christmas, a lot of time we struggle to buy the right gifts, especially for children. Being 57 years old, I didn't always have a television in my home, for one reason or another. In this day, if a child doesn't have the latest game system, or games, clothes, tennis shoes, and newest electronic device, it seems we are somehow letting them down. My best Christmas gifts were always books. My best friends were Tom Sawyer and Huck, The Time Machine, Tunnel Through Time, Doc Savage, The Hardy Boys, Treasure Island and the titles go on and on! Books open a mind to new adventures that not only allow an imaginations explode and dreams to expand, but open the vocabulary to new words and interactions. Whether it is my books or other's books, give someone the greatest gift this Christmas season by taking a game controller out of their hands, make them take a few hours away from texting, Twittering and other things, and place a book in their hands. For some, it may not take, but there are others who will suddenly find themselves lost on a island, walking the Mississippi, lost in a cave with a girl named Becky Thacher, finding themselves lost in time and solving a mystery with a with the Hardy Brothers. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you sit down with your children, not just read them The Night Before Christmas, but read them The Christmas Story and give them a firm foundation to grow up with and an understanding of why we have Chistmas and who was born over 2000 years ago to give us all hope. Merry Christmas to all! Terry Manning