Although there seems to be a week or a day for everything, Family Literacy Day is one that I can truly get behind.

Some of my favourite memories as a kid were when my dad would sit in bed with me and read Roald Dahl books. I would be all snuggled in, pyjamas on, covers pulled up to my chin. My dad would sit on top of the covers, as to ensure an easy escape when I fell asleep.

My bedside lamp would be on, illuminating only the area around my bed.

Sitting like this together, my dad told me many stories, but one in particular sticks out in my mind.

He told me the story of little a boy named James Henry Trotter, who was forced to live with his horrible, abusive aunts after the death of his parents. Now I know that sounds pretty doom and gloom for a kids’ book, but what comes next is truly great. 

You see, James is given a sack of glowing crocodile tongues. These tongues, when mixed with a jug of water and 10 hairs from James’ head, would result in a magic potion. That magic potion, when drunk, would bring James happiness and great adventures.

But before James could make the concoction, he trips and spills the tongues all over a peach tree. 

This is where it gets really good. The tree, which had previously never given fruit, becomes enchanted and a peach the size of a house grows from it.

One day, James worms his way into the fruit to discover a whole world inhabited by a number of talking insects, and from there the adventures begin.

Although my dad read me many stories as a kid, James and the Giant Peach has always stuck with me. The images I imagined as a young girl are still ingrained in my mind.

I attribute my love for books to those cozy, bedtime story sessions. 

It also helped to see my dad reading his own books all the time. Seeing that he enjoyed reading, made me enjoy reading.

I think the idea behind Family Literacy Day is brilliant. Although kids often learn to read and write at school, they also learn much of their behaviours at home. So to have a parent that models positive literacy practices and encourages reading, can make a huge difference.

For me, it fostered an interest in writing, as well. When I was seven or eight, I started writing and illustrating my own books that I would tether together with yarn. I would create them at the dining room table and then proudly present them to my parents. 

I remember one story about a dragon that made a bet he could fly around the planet in less than 24 hours. The illustrations show him in his many attempts. Although in most cases, he’s larger than Earth and should thus be able to make it around in minutes, rather than hours. I guess my understanding of size perception was a little off when I was young.

But that’s not the point. The point is to live in today’s society, you need to be literate. And with all of life’s distractions these days, it’s easy to put literacy on the back burner. But it’s important that parents see beyond that and take the time to read with their children. 

There is so much to be gained from 15 minutes of reading a day. It fosters a love of books and it encourages a healthy imagination, which can lead to so many wonderful things, like yarn-tied books about abnormally large dragons flying around the Earth.

So, I encourage everyone, young and old, to devote time each day to literacy and if you have kids, try to make every day Family Literacy Day.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writer’s own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.