“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.” ― Walt Disney
The book, one of the sources of knowledge, is of great importance to us. Students need books to learn, teachers need books to teach, and other people need books to acquire information and knowledge. Initially, we all need books to gain knowledge and gather information. A book may be small, but it has the power to change a person. We must never underestimate the power of books.
Roald Dahl, one of the most prolific modern writers, in his poem Television, has laid emphasis on the importance of books to children and has gone against devices like television. Following are a few lines that I have extracted from the poem.
"Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts."
In this poem, Roald Dahl says that the children living long ago knew about many books. He begs and prays for the parents to throw their TV set away and install a lovely bookshelf on the wall where the TV was kept before. They must fill the shelves with a lot of books, which will make their children ignore the dirty looks of TV. When the TV is removed, the children will scream, yell, bite, kick, and hit their parents with sticks. But the parents need not be afraid because in about one or two weeks, the children will have nothing to do, and then they will feel the need to have something to read. Once they start reading, the slowly growing joy will be seen in the children, which will fill their hearts.
So, Roald Dahl has beautifully described the importance and need of books for children. It will help children increase their imagination. It will help to improve their creativity too.
"The best addiction is being addicted to books." This addiction will help us gain, not lose. It will prove to be an asset, not a liability. So, all people must read books, whether young or old.
Nishan Karki
Pestallozi Children's Village Society
Image courtesy- Canva
