Word for the Wise, November 12

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Topic: Children's Book Week

Today we mark the start of Children's Book Week, a time, according to the Children's Book Council, for children to discover the complexity of the world beyond their own experience through books.

Frederic G. Melcher, the bookseller who helped establish Children's Book Week more than eight decades ago, reminded Americans of the importance of reading with the claim that "a great nation is a reading nation."

Melcher was not the only person to have sung the praises of reading. The educator Horace Mann believed "A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up children without surrounding them with books."

Need another reason to read? Author Henry Miller—whose books were intended for adults, not children—argued that "we should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate." But to end things where we began, with a look at children reading, we'll look at some words from one of the most beloved writers ever read by children or former children: Doctor Seuss. Doctor Seuss celebrated the joy of reading in his traditional singsong phrasing "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.  

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