The Wonderful World of Books

Let me fall asleep with a book in my hands

And, dream sweet dreams of faraway lands;

Where adventures abound in valleys and woods,

Like the one about Red Riding Hood.

There are people to meet and new foods to taste

To watch t.v. would be such a waste;

Pirates and witches and monsters and kings!

Oh, a book can be filled with so many things.

I can be anything I want in a book;

A brilliant scientist or a clever cook

I can build cities or create a domain

Of a brand new country and call it my name.

What fun there is inside a book!

So, open one up and take a look.

There’s a special one waiting just for you.

I love to read and hope you do, too.

Denise Handlon

Written 9/12/11 No portion of this original work can be printed, copied or reproduced in any way without the expressed written permission of the author.

As writers we are in love with words and books-whether reading, writing or collecting them. This poem began with the realization that I had fallen asleep while reading, once again. How many of us have done that same thing?

Worse than that are the countless times when I would attempt to read a bedtime story to my children, (and later my grandchildren), only to have them nudging me awake because I had dozed off between pages.

In fact, I recall a particular time when I had been reading to my oldest granddaughter, Olivia when she began to laugh. “Grandma,” she said giggling, “you’re asleep.” She went on to tell me that I had been mumbling something about cookies, which had nothing to do with the story.

The next day, after picking her up from school and asking her how her day was, she informed us that for show and tell she told the class that her grandmother fell asleep reading the story and said, “Where’s the cookies?” This got gales of laughter from her classmates.

There are many high quality stories that transport the reader into an adventure or imaginary life somewhere. A few of the classics that have been around for our enjoyment are: David Copperfield, Jane Austin, Sherlock Holmes, Huckleberry Finn, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, The Last of the Mohicans, Mutiny on the Bounty, and Robinson Crusoe. This is just one small sampling of great authors whose works have stood the test of time.

Then, of course, there are the countless variations of Fairy Tales, and children’s classics, like: Winnie the Pooh, Little House on the Prairie, Curious George, Black Beauty, Good Night Moon, The Secret Garden , The Hobbit, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

One of the books that I recall reading as a young girl was the story of The Swiss Family Robinson . My friends and siblings and I would then have our own adventures in our local woods re-enacting various parts while climbing into fallen trees.

I chose to make this lyrical poem because it was intended as an invitation to young children to discover how fun reading can be, and rhyme is so appealing to a younger audience. The regular beat has a sing-song quality to it that children can relate to.

I deliberately chose words that children would connect with ‘pirates and witches and monsters and kings’ , for instance. And, finally, I made a dig at t.v. consuming society’s attention, drawing kids away from their imaginations and physical activity: ‘to watch t.v. would be such a waste.’