The Little Library
I was born and raised in the Bronx. Despite its reputation, it was a nice place to grow up. We had about twenty kids on the block and we did everything from playing jump rope to stoop ball to singing rock and roll in harmony on our front steps.
One of the nicest parts of our neighborhood was a small group of stores that was just about a half block away from our house. Today, we’d call it a strip mall, I suppose, but back then it was our mainstay for daily supplies. There was a grocery store, drug store, hair salon, cleaners, and believe it or not, a small library.
A Treasure Trove
I loved that little library! Every few days, I’d walk up the block and take out a new book or two, especially during the summer. I can still remember that library smell every time I stepped through the door. And there I’d find the adventures of Nancy Drew, Donna Parker, Trixie Belden and the Bobbsey Twins. I’d love to scan the shelves for hours, looking for something that I’d never think of reading but tickled my fancy just because it was there. That was the best part of the library. It’s like the song from Pocohontas – you’ll find “things you never knew you never knew.”
It Was Actually Fun!
There wasn’t a lot of formal activity during the summer back in those days. No one signed us up for specialty camps that taught us sports, did exotic crafts or explored nature. There was nothing to watch on TV during the day that was interesting to kids. So all our activities were do-it yourself – playing baseball on an old lot or in the street, putting on a show using old sheets as the stage curtain and charging our parents a nickel to get in and a nickel to get out, drawing hopscotch squares on the sidewalk or bouncing a rubber ball singing “A, my name is Alice.” And, if we weren’t inclined to do any of those things, we read a book. Yes, for the fun of it.
Is the Joy of Reading Gone for Our Kids?
I encountered a sobering statistic the other day. In a recent study, they found that only 45% of 17 year-olds read at least one book for pleasure during an entire year. So what do these teens do for pleasure? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they talk and text on the phone. Yes, I get it. Digital products are the heartbeat of our society. But what have we lost? At least if young people were using phones to read books digitally, it might be more palatable. But is “reading for pleasure” a lost wonder?
It’s hard not to feel like a dinosaur when bemoaning the loss of the kind of literary experience we had years ago. Things are just different now. And perhaps the days of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys are gone forever. But can we somehow preserve that delightful experience of finding a quiet place, hunkering down and getting lost in the pages of a good story? I hope so. It’s something I will always cherish.