Celebrate Your Freedom to Read

Books and reading have had such an important place in my life from childhood through young adulthood, as a parent, and today in my mid-50's. I consumed books as a child, my appetite fueled by parents who regularly borrowed 10 books at a time from the library during summer holidays. When I had exhausted the children's section, my Dad took my hand and guided to me to the adult section where he and my Mom made careful selections as they broadened my world. I spent hours with my children exploring initially the world of Eric Carle and Robert Munsch and graduating to Harry Potter and other fantasy worlds. Our home is filled with boxes and trunks and shelves of books that my sons have read, re-read and treasured. Books have been lovingly passed to younger cousins, donated to libraries, lent to friends and exchanged between relatives. I give books to mentees and team members, my mom and I discuss and share books and my girlfriends give books as loving tokens of friendship. We dive in, we discuss, we learn, we laugh, we dream, we cry, we ponder difficult issues and concepts.

In Canada we have many rights protected under the Charter. Yet every day in communities across our country important books by award winning authors are challenged in school boards and public libraries.

Today marks the start of Freedom to Read Week. What can you do?

1. Educate yourself about the issue https://www.freedomtoread.ca/
2. Read one of the "frequently challenged books".
3. Explore a challenged book with your children and discuss it.
4. Raise awareness on social media