But more than that, it was a promise to the world: a promise to remember the power of the printed word, to take time to cherish it, to protect it at all costs. He promised to explain, to anyone and everyone he meets, the life-changing ability literature can have. He promised to fight for it. So that’s what he’s doing.
Thirteen years ago, my father made the reading promise to me.
He kept his word.
My father was not the only person to make this promise. I made it, too, just as millions of people have made it around the world. Since books were first created, copied by hand beside glowing firelight, many have recognized them for the treasures they really are. Men and women everywhere have valued and protected these treasures. They may not start a reading streak, but the commitment is still there. There is always time to make the commitment to read and defend reading, and it is a commitment that is always worthwhile. This is more important now than it has ever been before. Unfortunately, my father’s situation is not unique: day by day, literature is being phased out of our lives and the lives of our children. This is the time to act. This is the time to make a promise.
The Reading Promise
I, ______________________, promise to read.
I promise to read on my own, in print or on a screen, wherever books appear. I promise to visit fictional worlds and gain new perspectives—to keep an open mind about books, even when the cover is unappealing and the author is unfamiliar. I promise to laugh out loud (especially in public) when the chapter amuses me, and to sob uncontrollably on my bed for hours at a time when my favorite character dies. I promise to look up words when I don’t know them, and cities when I can’t locate them, and people when I can’t remember them. I promise to lose track of time.
I promise to read with ________________, if not every night, then whenever I can. I promise to remember that this person is more than my son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, landlord, or dog walker; he or she has a mind that, like mine, loves to be used and challenged. I promise to share books however it suits us best, whether we choose to read to each other or simply get together for discussions and homemade baked goods. I promise to appreciate the time we spend together and the literature we meet, even when I am stressed or tired or sunburned (or an awful combination of the three), because books are better when they’re shared. I promise to do my best to meet our goal, whether that goal is to read for ten thousand nights or simply to get to know each other better. I promise never to give up on reading, nor let us give up on each other, whether we meet our goal or not.
I promise to support reading in my community of _____________ however I can, and everywhere else for that matter. I promise to spread the word about words, whether it’s volunteering at my local library or just recommending good books to friends. I promise to speak out if reading is cut from the school curriculum, and to fight for books whenever their value is challenged. I promise to tell everyone I know how reading calms me down, riles me up, makes me think, or helps me get to sleep at night. I promise to read, and read to someone, as long as human thought is still valued and there are still words to be shared.
I promise to be there for books, because I know they will always be there for me.
LIST OF BOOKS FROM
THE READING STREAK
My father and I had no idea what The Streak would become and therefore never made a list of the books we read. Many have been forgotten, but these are the ones we remember.
The Last Treasure by Janet S. Anderson
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
The Barn by Avi
Wish You Well by David Baldacci
Harry the Poisonous Centipede by Lynne Reid Banks
Searching for David’s Heart by Cherie Bennett
A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Trouble River by Betsy Byars
The Family under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
Murder on the Orient Express and Ten Little Indians (Also known by the title And Then There Were None) by Agatha Christie
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
My Daniel by Pam Conrad
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
James and the Giant Peach, Danny the Champion of the World, and The Minpins by Roald Dahl
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Great Expectations, The Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, and The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger
Whirligig and The Half-A-Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Other Shepards by Adele Griffin
Among the Hidden and Among the Betrayed by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
Indigo by Alice Hoffman
Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, Ark Angel, and Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz
Up a Road Slowly and Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
The Secret Journey by Peg Kehret
In the Stone Circle by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Beyond the Open Door by Andrew Lansdown
The Secret in the Woods by Lois Gladys Leppard
Spy X: The Code by Peter Lerangis
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
The Giver and Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
Journey by Patricia MacLachlan
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days by Stephen Manes
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin
Good Night, Maman by Norma Fox Mazer
Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
Thomas Jefferson: A Boy in Colonial Days by Helen A. Monsell
It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
A Year Down Under by Richard Peck
The Moosepire and Once Upon a Blue Moose by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
Select short stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Pawns by Willo Davis Roberts
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Missing May and The Islander by Cynthia Rylant
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Bears’ House by Marilyn Sachs
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Among the Dolls by William Sleator
Cat Running by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson
Maniac Magee and The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires
Andy Jackson: Boy Soldier by Augusta Stevenson
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman
Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
Each Little Bird That Sings and Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles
The Moonlight Man by Betty Ren Wright
The Pigman by Paul Zind
el
L. Frank Baum books:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz
Dot and Tot of Merryland
American Fairy Tales
The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale
Mother Goose in Prose
Queen Zixi of Ix
The Sea Fairies
Sky Island
The Enchanted Island of Yew
The Magical Monarch of Mo
Father Goose: His Book
Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Judy Blume books:
Freckle Juice
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Superfudge
Fudge-a-Mania
Double Fudge
The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo
Ramona books by Beverly Cleary:
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona and Her Mother
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Forever
Ramona’s World
Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald J. Sobol:
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
Encyclopedia Brown Strikes Again (aka Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch)
Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues
Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man
Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All
Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace
Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day
Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down
Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way
Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case
Encyclopedia Brown Lends a Hand
Encyclopedia Brown Carries On
Encyclopedia Brown Sets the Pace
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead Eagles
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight Visitor
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure Hunt
Dear Readers,
Nearly a year has passed since the initial release of The Reading Promise, and it’s been the sort of time most writers dream about. Television appearances. Travel. NPR. For a twenty-three-year-old, this all should have been dazzling. And it was. But for someone whose passion is stories, the most wonderful thing about this experience has been the ones you’ve shared with me.
I hear from my readers every single day. Their e-mails vary from a quick little line of thanks to the kind you could eat for supper without going to bed hungry. As I started responding to these e-mails, I noticed a pattern that even a cynic would find heartening: Reading to your kids isn’t going out of style.
Some parents read on an e-reader, some from bound books, some borrow from the library, and some amass large collections, but parents are reading. And reading. And reading. Most of the messages I receive make some note of how often the family reads, and when it’s not every night, it’s almost every night. Perhaps our persistence was unique, but really, nothing about my story is all that rare. Many authors would feel a pit in their stomachs, realizing their book was about such an everyday subject. But I couldn’t be more pleased.
People ask me constantly if I’ll write another book. I suppose it’s too soon to know for sure, but at the moment, I have no plans to do so. My father, who is known for his predictions, has told me since I was very young that I had a great story in me, waiting to come out, and that I’d write it and publish it whether I wanted to or not. Surprisingly, this is almost exactly what happened. I never planned to write a book. But one thing led to another—a grad school admissions essay became a New York Times article, publishers became very interested in that article—and here I am, a bona fide author. To say it was a dream come true would not be accurate; when this all fell into place, at the end of my senior year of college, my dreams still revolved around finding a job that came with decent health insurance. But it was a universal dream come true, like winning the lottery or meeting Prince Charming—the sort of thing you know is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Strangely enough, it did happen. My father’s prediction was right.
But my dreams have always been rather unremarkable: Finding a job I would look forward to every day. Starting a family. Learning to knit. I’ve loved this experience, but if this is the only book I ever write—as indeed I think it may be—it is enough, and then some. I’ve had the sort of wild ride that my grandchildren will never believe, as I rock back and forth placidly in my rocking chair, telling them how Gramma used to be, by some definition of the word, cool.
My door will always be open to letters, e-mails, posts, Tweets, and singing telegrams from the people who read my book, and I’ll still come to your schools, libraries, and bookstores. I want to hear every last detail about the Reading Streak you’ve started. I will be here for you every step of the way. And when your Streak reaches 3,219 nights—please, I encourage you, write a book about it. It will be such a wonderful experience for you and your family.
Finally, as someone raised on bedtime stories, I can’t conclude this book without a happy ending. The cliffhanger I left you with simply won’t do. So here it is:
My father never had to run for the school board. Soon enough, the board and administrators realized the detrimental effects of cutting back on their reading programs. My father’s former student—a man who refers to my father as his “hero”—was elected superintendant. The town is in a period of change.
My father thoroughly enjoys retirement and reads to others every chance he gets. He’s one of the most sought-after volunteers in the county, and he has his choice of excellent listeners everywhere he goes. And he has a shed full of hand-picked, fantastic books, just ready and waiting for his grandchildren.
I’m only twenty-three, so he’s still got some waiting to do. He still sits on his rocker and watches the birds. He’s still waiting, only this time, it’s for something absolutely beautiful: the next generation of Reading Streaks.
Little does he know, it’s already started.
READING GROUP GUIDE
QUESTIONS FOR
FURTHER DISCUSSION
What traditions did your family have during your childhood and teen years? Did you have any that came close to approximating the span of The Streak? Why do you think that The Streak lasted while so many other attempts at family activities don’t?
Alice and her father, Jim, share in affectionate, at times almost cranky, banter. What about their relationship is revealed through the dialogue that Alice chooses to include?
When father and daughter meet their first goal of one hundred nights, Alice’s father asks her how she’d like to celebrate. Alice tells the reader, “Neither of us could think of anything. We were happy, very happy, but we never did much celebrating.” What does the choice of Flick’s Cafe as a celebration spot say about them as a family?
Alice’s mother’s departure seems to come out of left field, but she tells Alice, “We talked about this. We’ve been talking about this for months.” What does it say that Alice has withheld it from the reader up until that point?
Consider the scene in which Alice’s father reads Agatha Christie to her in the parking lot outside of her rehearsal. Alice writes, “He knew that at least for one moment in time, I was embarrassed of The Streak. And for that, more any anything that had happened that night, I was ashamed.” Is it surprising that she only recalls one instance of being embarrassed of The Streak during her teenage years? Why do you think she points to this moment? Is there an instance in your growing up when you felt similarly?
“My father is not an affectionate man,” Alice tells us. But he manifests his love for his daughters in a number of ways. What are some of these?
Alice’s car accident causes her to confront many of her unresolved feelings about her mother. What about the incident makes her start to understand and forgive her?
What did you think about Alice’s father losing his job? How does it impact your impressions of The Streak?
What do you think the future of family reading will be? What possibilities are there for a “Streak” during the age of e-books?
How many of the books from The Streak have you read? Which of them made the greatest impression on you?
Acclaim for
THE READING PROMISE
“[An] utterly charming memoir, which blends Ozma’s reading experience with a perfectly phrased account of her upbringing and shows us just how much she learned… Sweet, engaging, and obviously inspiring… this is the perfect book to hand any curmudgeon who needs reminding that reading makes a difference or thinks that today’s youth are all blasé. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“All it takes is one night… followed by another night… and another… and another. And if your family is anything like Alice Ozma’s, the hardest part of your reading streak will be bringing it to an end.”