That Magic Moment - Reading for Now and Forever

All week long, I've had a song stuck in my head ... "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters. The song title may be the only refrain I can remember, but each time I *hear* it, I smile.

Why? Because it reminds me of all of the times I had the honor of being with a new reader the moment they discover they are really reading. Here are a few of those magical reactions over the years ...

• "I mean it, I can read ... it's not because I mesmerized (sic) the book!"
• "Do you have something you want help reading?"
• "I got this!"
• "Can I read another book?"

With my daughter, it was a 30-minute spree of picking out every word or phrase she saw: road signs, newspaper headlines, cereal boxes, toys, ... you name it. If she could see it, she wanted us to know she could read it.

Those moments are priceless! I often liken that moment to the joy we see in in the surprises children discover  on Christmas morning: anticipation and reality coming together. 

In 2011, the theme for Share a Story - Shape a Future was the Gift of Literacy. All week, we explored ways of nurturing and celebrating literacy in all its forms. Literacy truly is a gift - one that we receive and one that we share.

Being there as a child - or adult - opens their gift is the opportunity of a lifetime. Discovering the joys of reading and writing is lifelong journey. Here's to magical moments every day!