As an educator and educational researcher, L. Malungu is concerned that our youngest, media savvy generation are losing the chance to experience the magic of reading, preferring instead to rely on a more passive, media-rich exposure to literature — while entertaining, movies are someone else’s interpretation of a story.
She has never forgotten how her own love for reading was ignited, at the age of 5 during her first visit to the school library, when the librarian whispered in her ear — “Reading is magic, and opens the door to everything and anything you want to learn!”
Reading not only enables us…
- to envision realities outside of our familiar surroundings,
- to meet, have an affinity for, and empathize with characters who face challenges similar or not so similar to those we may be experiencing ourselves,
- to access world views and perceptions we may never have considered,
- to expand vocabulary,
but much more importantly, it provides us the opportunity to hone our creative, visualization skills. Like muscles that are not exercised and lose strength — creative visualization if not practiced and developed can experience atrophy as well.
