All For the Girl Who Loves Icecream

She's sitting on the floor in between the chapter fiction and the picture books. She is smaller than the rest, and from what I'm told she is slower than the rest. I look around the room as the kids ooouu and aaah over the shiny new soccer and race car driver books - they grab for them like candy. One boy clutches a Spanish book with a toothless smile. "Grandma can read this one to me!" I turn my head again to the little one on the floor - cross legged and quiet; she is wearing a messy bun and an over-sized shirt, and I hear her whispering as if she is conjuring the words to life. She cradles the old book in her hands. It is like magic to her. She turns each page slowly like a million secrets lay in her lap. It is a gray, plain page with a white elephant and an icecream cone. "I... love.. " she whispers and stutters through each word, hard lines on her forehead form as she concentrates. The boy with the tiny braids runs past her with three books, ready to devour more. "I...love.." she tries again, this time her fingers grasp harder to the edge of the book. I squat down beside her and she looks up at me for affirmation. "Let's try it together," I say. She smiles at me and nods. We slowly begin again. "I love.. icecream." She looks at me again knowing that she did it and she feels proud. "I'm proud of you." I say. Her whole face lights up, and she doesn't even know me. 

Jay Asher

SIDE NOTE** It is so important that we fight for our libraries in schools. Unfortunately, more and more libraries and librarians are disappearing because of budget cuts. This is truly devastating, because there are so many children out there who don't get to read at home. Help make a difference in cultivating the love of reading and the pursuit of knowledge by signing this petition. It needs a lot more signatures! **