Every year at this time the sight the of maple trees adorned in their autumn finery, their leaves doing a whirling and final dance in the wind as they fall to the ground, reminds me of a book I read as a child called Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (Disney, 1968).

The cooler and darker days also take me back to Saturday mornings when I would curl up in my bed with the latest Rupert Bear book I had checked out of the library; there was something about the drawings and the stories in those books that I found both fascinating and comforting.

Today, my blog is named after another of my favorite childhood books, The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I recently ordered a copy of that book from Amazon and I’m saving it for a day when I have time to enjoy the whole thing at one sitting.

My love of books started early in my life and has continued throughout. Books have served to teach me and to entertain me at different times; my home has always been filled with books of every kind. Some might even call me a bibliophile.

It pleases me to know that my love of books and reading was passed on to my children. I consider it one of the best and most enduring gifts I was able to give them.

My granddaughter is twenty-two months old and shows signs of inheriting a love of books as well. She already has a large collection of books of her own and is being taught to appreciate and take care of them. The books have been read to her many times and I’m sure she understands the stories. It’s interesting to see her sit down with a pile of them by her side and leaf through the pages one by one as she chatters away quietly, seeming to be reading to herself.

Recently, when I was visiting my daughter I was thrilled to have an opportunity to join her in taking my granddaughter to the library. When I told my daughter how pleased I was that she was doing that with Makiya, she said she had such fond memories of the library as a child and wanted to be able to pass that on to her daughter. That blessed this grandma’s heart!

On the day we went to library we arrived just after it opened so Makiya was not tired and the library itself was not too busy. My daughter began browsing for books she thought that Makiya would like and checking with her on a few to see if they interested her. Makiya even chose one or two for herself.

It wasn’t long before other moms and children arrived to browse the shelves and choose books. It wasn’t silent in the children’s area, but the muffled words of the moms reading to their children and gently instructing them on library behavior was music to my ears.

To someone who does not share the love of books that my family has, it might seem odd to take a two year old to the library. For others, like my daughter and I, it would seem odd not to. We understand that by exposing a child to books, introducing them to the wonders contained within them, and teaching them to respect and take care of them, we are giving them an immeasurable gift that they will carry with them for the rest of their life.

Linda Hoye is a full-time HR Management Systems Analyst and a part-time writer.