“A Bookish Christmas”

By

Gerry Niskern

It’s December shopping time again. So come on, all you avid readers out there. We know who you are. We’re the ones who give books for Christmas.  We’re part of a shrinking society and we have to stick together to stem the overwhelming tide of modern technology.

We’ve all heard the old saying, “Christmas is for children”. The kids tell Santa their Yuletide wishes and settle back knowing that at least some of the objects of their desires will appear on Christmas morning.

Here’s an idea.  Let someone else buy the electronic games for the children. We’ll keep reminding them that there’s nothing better than the physical presence of a book. The feel of slick new pages, the rich smell of the cover, and the limitless possibilities for their imagination to unfold.

I started out to do my Christmas shopping one morning last week. The next thing I knew, I was in a bookstore. It couldn’t hurt to browse a little, right?  Then I would go onto the other stores. Then, I saw a display of one of the latest biographies published. Perfect for my daughter. I’ll concede she looks like her dad’s side of the family, but I’m delighted that she shares my joy in reading. She sat on my lap around eight months of age and identified all the B words in her first little book. There’s nothing more gratifying than holding a toddler on your lap and introducing her to one of your favorite childhood books; reading the words and watching a chubby hand move over the pictures in wonder.

The family stills laughs about how that grandson used to sit up in his crib at night, when the electric heater came on and cast a glow across his room. You could hear the pages of his little books rustling as he read furiously until the heater cycled off again.

When it comes to books and kids, we had a “Babar” son. It seemed like he read nothing else for years. Hmm….I wonder if the littlest one in the family would like a Babar book. They’re back, you know.

Son-in-law can always use another fishing book and a volume of poems for the poet in the family. . The history buffs in the family will enjoy the updated and expanded edition of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time and the teens anything by John Green, popular young adults author of The Fault is in the Stars.

Not too many centuries ago books were rare and valuable? Paper was unheard of in many parts of the world and countless people lived their whole lives without touching or even seeing a book.

When the family gathers this year, I’m sure it will be a typical electronic Christmas. There will be new video and computer games, all kinds of intriguing new gadgets and of course, lot’s of new cell phones. I know I’m fighting an uphill battle, but I’m giving books. Traditions are what we make and I’m continuing an old one.

Maybe Christmas could be a reminder that nothing thrills like unwrapping a brand new book. Running you hand over the rich binding, smelling the new pages and settling down to be transported to worlds only you will know is a delight.  The images you see, are not flashed on a screen, but are your very own.