Amy Dickinson’s Great Idea: A Book on Every Bed

Posted on December 19, 2015 at 8:43 am

My annual reminder about Ask Amy’s “book on every bed” advice for families, a wonderful annual tradition:

You take a book (it can be a new book or a favorite from your own childhood). You wrap it. On Christmas Eve (or whatever holiday you celebrate), you leave the book in a place where Santa is likely to find it. When I communicated with David McCullough about borrowing his idea, he was very clear: Santa handles the delivery and places the book on a child’s bed.

In the morning, the children in your household will awaken to a gift that will far outlast any toy: literacy.

I know this for sure: No matter who you are or what you do, reading will unlock untold opportunities, mysteries and passions. When you have a book and the ability to tell, read and share stories, you gain access to the universe of others’ imaginations. And avid readers know that if you have a book, you are never alone.

For some good suggestions, check out this list from Fault in Our Stars author John Green.

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Ask Amy Says: A Book on Every Bed

Posted on December 20, 2014 at 12:00 pm

I love to remind people about Amy Dickinson’s wonderful “Book on Every Bed” proposal:

Here’s how it happens: You take a book (it can be new or a favorite from your own childhood).

You wrap it. On Christmas Eve (or whatever holiday you celebrate), you leave the book in a place where Santa is likely to find it. When I communicated with David McCullough about borrowing his idea, he was very clear: Santa handles the delivery and places the book on a child’s bed.

In the morning, the children in your household will awaken to a gift that will far outlast any toy: a guided path into the world of stories.

Every family should establish this tradition. If you’re lucky, the child will insist on finishing the book before opening the rest of the presents!

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Ask Amy’s ‘Book on Every Bed’ Project

Posted on December 12, 2010 at 8:00 am

Amy Dickenson has a wonderful idea for Christmas, “A Book on Every Bed.”

Take a book. Wrap it. Place it on a child’s bed so it’s the first thing she sees on Christmas morning (or whatever holiday you celebrate). That’s it.

I’m working with the Family Reading Partnership, a literacy organization in my home town of Ithaca, N.Y., to spread the word about the importance of reading with children.

A million stories: Our goal is for a million American children to wake up to a wrapped book on their beds.

This is not a fundraising appeal. This is not about buying books (the book you give can be passed down).

“A Book on Every Bed” is an appeal to spread the love of reading from parents to children. We also want to encourage families to share books by reading aloud.

Dickenson recalls her own love for Green Eggs and Ham and the life-long love for reading it inspired.
Reading Rockets has some good ideas to get you started. Long after the electronic gizmos and fads are forgotten, the gift of books and the learning and imagination they inspire will be a sustaining force in the lives of children. Start the tradition of waking up to a book on Christmas morning for the children in your home — and — why not — add books for the adults as well. Letting children see the people they love enjoying a book will be a gift to them as well.

Ask Amy’s Recommendation

Posted on March 17, 2010 at 11:46 am

I am thrilled and honored to be mentioned in today’s Ask Amy column. A parent wrote in about 9 and 10 year olds who had seen the very R-rated “The Hangover” multiple times. Amy Dickenson wisely suggested an honest and thoughtful response:

This presents a “teachable moment” for your kids and their friends. When other kids mention that they’ve been allowed to see or do something you don’t allow in your family, you can say, “Well, that’s an R-rated movie. R-rated means it’s really for grown-ups, not kids.”

I agree with you that “The Hangover” is highly inappropriate for children. I don’t know why parents aren’t more careful with the media their children consume, but your primary interest should be toward creating and maintaining the ethic and atmosphere in your own home. Nell Minow (“The Movie Mom”) is my favorite arbiter of what media are appropriate for kids. Her television and movie reviews can be found on blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom.

I agree with Amy that one of the most important lessons a parent can teach is that “everybody else is doing it” never works. Kids may struggle with limits — it is part of the job description for anyone who is in the process of growing up. But they respect our efforts to keep them safe. This “teachable moment” shows them more than what R-rated means. It shows them how we as adults make choices with integrity.

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Ask Amy Recommends My Blog!

Posted on August 31, 2009 at 7:55 pm

The wonderful Amy Dickenson of Ask Amy was kind enough to recommend my blog as her favorite resource for checking out movies.

Minow smartly distills plots and rates films with kids and families in mind. In two minutes I learned that “BrÃ¼no” uses “very strong, vulgar language” along with “extremely graphic and explicit nudity (male and female).”

Let me take this opportunity to recommend Amy Dickenson’s heartwarming memoir of three generations of strong, wise women in her family, The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them.

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