By Kalan Gott
If you have ever watched a young child around books you know there is this innate curiosity for the pictures and words held on the pages. It is almost as if all children start with this need to read. Like hunger or thirst, a child’s need must be met to keep him or her healthy in his or her literacy life. As adults and mentors we can feed that need by sharing our love of literacy and by allowing children the freedom to explore their interests. To me it seems like the only element that eventually destroys a love for reading is when as adults we send the message that a child is not good enough as a reader. We tell them that they don’t read like their peers, they are where they should be, they didn’t score high enough, and they must indulge in what we like. They are refused the rich texts that meet their dietary needs. There is and I in literacy. Readers are individuals and if we remember that and bend to their literary cravings then that innate need will once again take over and love of literacy will bloom.