TEACHING KIDS TO READ

Poem for Today - February 23, 2014
Black History Month

THE FIRST BOOK

Open it.

Go ahead, it won’t bite.
Well … maybe a little.

More a nip, like. A tingle.
It’s pleasurable, really.

You see, it keeps on opening.
You may fall in.

Sure, it’s hard to get started;

remember learning to use

knife and fork?  Dig in:

you’ll never reach bottom.

It’s not like it’s the end of the world -

just the world as you think

you know it.

© Rita Dove

About This Poem:

Rita Dove told Bill Moyers the following about this poem: "I was shocked when I visited some classes at my daughter's school and realized that many kids were afraid of reading, and reading wasn't a joy for them and that  somehow they were afraid they were going to fail at it - they're much more adept with computers and other electronic media - so 'The First Book' is abouit encouraging someone to discover the joy of reading."

Page 119 in Bill Moyer's, The Language of Life, A Festival of Poets.