Do you remember how it felt when you first learned to read?  I do.  I can still smell my first storybook, Angus and the Ducks (Sunburst Book) by Marjorie Flack, and feel its scratchy covers against the tips of my four-year-old fingers.  I can still picture my favorite page - the scene where the little Scottish terrier finally finds out what's been making the noise on the other side of the tall hedge.

I also recall the exact moment when I discovered that books were more than just pages of colorful illustrations.  With the help of an eager older brother, I began to make some sense of all those strange letters between the pictures.  Each letter had a different sound, he told me, and together we practiced s-s-s-ing like a snake and b-b-baaing like sheep until I knew the sound of every letter in the alphabet.

I learned that when clumped together, letters formed words that could bark, leap, and race from page to page.  Soon I was able to read simple words like ran, dog, see, and duck all by myself.   And one night while reading by flashlight under my covers, I suddenly realized that a whole string of words--a sentence--had helped my shaggy friend Angus leap out an open window after those pesty ducks!

Reading a book is a life-changing adventure.  Between its covers you will meet characters like Curious George, a clever monkey who wanders in and out of predicaments in every story;  loveable Little Bear, who longs to take a trip to the moon; and wacky Ms. Frizzle the science teacher, who explores the world with her inquisitive students on The Magic School Bus .  Reading invites you to leave the familiar surroundings of home and embark on a trip to Treasure Island, or saunter through Wonderland with Alice.

Most books weigh only a few ounces, yet have the power to pick you up and sweep you away to other lands and times. They can make you laugh or cry at the flip of a page.  But the best thing about books is what they leave behind after you've read the very last word on the very last page: a bookwormish hunger for more!