I think that the most important things that authors can do is to share their writing or share their craft with all potential readers and there are many kids who have wonderful opportunities to read and to have books and libraries full of them and there are many other kids who don’t have the same access to books and so one of the reasons that I got involved with First Book in the first place was to support an organization that’s mission is to provide books to all children in need.
And so I feel that as an author leveling a playing field so that all kids can have books in their lives and can grow up surrounded by books is hugely important both for kids now and for the adults that they’re going to grow up to be.
The importance of having books and printed material I feel can be seen in all aspects of your life. Both for me it’s a matter of the sheer pleasure of reading but it’s more than that. If you can’t read, you can’t read a prescription, if you can’t read you can’t apply for a job, if you can’t read you can’t know what’s going on in the world, you can’t be part of our society.
And if you’re limited in your vocabulary to that which is this small, you can’t tell your story to the world. So it seems to me that the more we can do to equalize opportunities so that all children can grow up with a rich, rich library of printed resources the more we can do to create a society in which everyone is able to achieve their potential.