The Reading Mother

I had a Mother who read to me,

Sagas of pirates, who scoured the sea,

Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays,

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales,

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness lent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things,

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each mother of boys were such.

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be--

I had a Mother who read to me!

By: Strickland Gillilan

"Today a reader,

Tomorrow a leader."

~ Margaret Fuller ~

When I was about eight, I decided that the most wonderful thing, next to a human being, was a book. ~ Margaret Walker ~

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~Anna Quindlen ~

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. ~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu ~

There is no substitute for books in the life of a child. ~ Mary Ellen Chase ~

A room without books is like a body without a soul. ~ Marcus T. Cicero ~

Never judge a book by its movie. ~ J. W. Eagan ~

When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be

reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books

you will be reading meanings. ~ Harold S. Geneen ~

Books are not men and yet they stay alive.

~ Stephen Vincent Benet ~

Books are not made for furniture,

but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.

~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

A book is good company.

It is full of conversation without loquacity.

It comes to your longing with full instruction,

but pursues you never. ~ Henry Ward Beecher ~