Library

Reading a handwritten message from one's daughter is the closest some of us are ever going to come to knowing what's meant by love, so it’s no wonder I experienced that feeling when I received one from mine.

"Dear mum and dad," Jasmine wrote. "I love you. I miss you so much when you are at work. You guys are the best." Next to my daughter's message is her drawing of what the best dad means: all the good books I borrow for her. What a relief when you find that you've actually provided a delightful springboard to literacy for your child!

I've lost count of the number of story books I've borrowed from the public library, and this was long before my daughter started to choose her favorite ones from her own school library. And long before my daughter learned to read the chapter books of Roald Dahl (who is having his 100th birthday today). Even today, although my daughter is now big enough to pick her own, I find myself enjoying going to the children's library after work, checking out books for her. My pick this evening is Grrrrr! by the award-winning author Rob Biddulph. "Wait a minute, dad," said my daughter, gleefully, pointing at the books she borrowed herself today. A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. Wise choice - it's better than her dad's, actually.