Have You Learned To Read?

Have you ever learned to read? That question probably sounds foolish to you. You are going to read this book, and you surely could not learn your geography or arithmetic lessons if you could not read. In the first grade you found that letters made words, and words made sentences that told a story. "Surely," you think, "I know how to read." But you may be surprised when you are told that many boys and girls, and even grown-up people, do not know how to read. Let us see how this can be true.

First, what do you do when you read? You listen to another person through your eyes and with your mind. The author of a story has been through thrilling adventures; he has seen wonderful sights; he has learned fascinating things through careful study; he has thought out an interesting story. He wants you to see, feel, hear, and wonder just as he has. He uses words to bring you his message. Your eyes are the gateway through which words reach your mind, and your mind must work to understand the message.

Now, in the greatest book ever written, the Bible, we read of people who have eyes, yet cannot see, and ears, yet cannot hear. Many people are like that when they read. They go skipping along through a story without getting half of what the author is trying to tell them. If you asked them to repeat the story, they would omit the best parts. There might be facts that would be valuable to them, but they would pass right over them. They do not think as they read.

Perhaps you have been asked to answer some question on a geography or history lesson; you didn't know the answer and felt sure it wasn't in your book. Then you went back to the book and read again. Sure enough, there it was, just as plain as could be! When you read the lesson first, you were not listening to the author; you were not thinking about his message. You were not reading.

Now, in this book many different authors will talk to you. They will tell you about the world of animals, birds, and trees; they will carry you back hundreds of years to the times of some famous heroes about whom millions of people have read; they will tell you about many other interesting things that are found in the world of books.

Each author has for you a message of his own. How well will you understand what he says to you?How well have you learned to read?

At the end of each story you will find a list of questions. When you come to these, say to yourself, "Here are some questions about the author's story. I certainly want to be able to tell what he has told me."

Perhaps you will say, "But I didn't know what some of the words meant." Then your book will answer, "It's your business to find out. There is a glossary in the back of the book, and if you don't find the word there, you have a dictionary. Words are tools that are used to make people understand a message. You have to use them, too, when you want to tell something. The more words you understand, the better you can talk to other people and the more you can learn from them."

Now let us listen to the authors who are waiting to talk to us from the pages of this book. Their stories are only samples from the great world of reading. By reading this book and many others, you will come to know what fascinating and valuable things authors have to tell you.