I get to read great stories all day at my job, yet a good book still captivates me. My patient wife sometimes has to repeat questions several times before I notice when I’m engrossed in a book.
My tastes run to legal thrillers such as those by John Grisham, and I can’t get enough of the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and books by Clive Cussler.
But books didn’t always appeal to me. While I was a strong young reader, I just didn’t enjoy the process. But somewhere in grade school, a teacher finally found a genre that grabbed my interest. I remember there was a series of books—I can’t remember the title—in my small school library about two brothers who lived in Florida and were scuba divers that finally flipped the switch for me. I loved following their adventures and was sad when I read all the books in that series. That was my gateway to becoming a lifelong reader.
This month, our story on page 12 chronicles the adventures of a family dedicated to helping children in low-income areas unlock their love of reading. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will tease you by saying they go the extra mile—a lot of them, actually—to reach their goal.
Growing Peace
Our story about a ginkgo tree grown from the seeds of a tree that survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast in 1945 is a lesson in peace and resiliency.
Learn why Michael Calhoun, a former Youth Energy Seminar participant, brought this small tree to Vernonia, Oregon, linking it with 47 other Oregon communities also growing peace trees.
Don’t miss our Before You Go story on page 30 about a small gesture to find the positive in every day.
Mike Teegarden
Editorial Director