How Betty Learned to Love Books
A poem helping students understand that practice makes perfect
CHAPTER 1
Betty was a girl of eight,
Her days were good, her life was great.
She played with friends in the sun,
And watched videos to have fun.
She went to school, like all good girls,
Did math and science and at dance she twirled.
When it came to language, a problem arose,
She never liked to read, neither poetry nor prose.
When she looked at books, she got really scared,
“Words are so difficult to read”, she sadly declared.
Her teachers and parents were all worried about her,
So Betty’s Aunt Lucy decided to talk to her.
“My dear Betty”, Aunt Lucy said.
“I really want to know what’s in your head?
Why is reading Oh So Hard?
Why is every book a discard?”
Betty got tears, as she said this,
“Some letters I read; some letters I miss!”
“Some words I read; some words I miss!”
“How can I enjoy a book like this?”
Aunt Betty laughed, as she nodded her head,
“I’ll visit in the morning”, she said.
“Once you’ve washed your face and dressed for the day,
We’ll sit together; I will show you the way”.
The next day before dawn, Betty was up and prepared.
Aunt Lucy came with a book, “10 pages only”, she declared.
Since then every morning had been the same,
’10 pages only’ was the name of the game.
And just like that, days turned to weeks…
Reading to Betty now became a treat!!
Chapter 2
Just like that months turned to nine,
Everything was going fine.
“Now that the reading habit is formed,
Time to move on”, Aunt Lucy warned.
“It’s not enough just words to read,
It’s time we started digging deep.
Deep reading is the next stage,
It begins even before the 1st page.
Let’s look at the title and at the back?
What is it that you make of that?
Is there something like this you’ve read before?
Does it ring any bells for sure?
While reading now let’s begin to think,
Do your thoughts, with the author’s link?
What does the book inspire in you?
Imagination or random thoughts, out of the blue?
What are the main ideas in the book?
Read and re-read, take a deep look!”
Chapter 3
As Betty dug deep,
She dreamt of books in her sleep.
Her ideas took over her mind,
Books to her were now a gold mine!
Her imagination began to run wild,
Deep thoughts started forming in the mind of that child.
She accepted problems big and small,
And found solutions to solve them all.
She spent days reflecting on the books,
And selected ideas onto which she was hooked.
She could now connect things past and present,
Realising that Aunt Lucy was a God sent.
She looked deep within her soul,
As time went by, lo and behold,
A new Betty emerged with thoughts a — new,
More intelligent and wise than any she knew.
As Betty grew up and more books read,
She understood better her heart, mind and head.
She began to look at the concept of life,
As a journey of discovery, not as strife.
She accepted how little she knew,
And promised herself her knowledge to renew.
She couldn’t believe how far she had gone,
By simply reading 10 pages at dawn!
Chapter 4
“In order to develop a Bi-literate brain,
You need books and the web”, Aunt Lucy explained.
Just reading books is not enough,
To get the ‘Big idea’ of all the stuff.
About life’s mystery and who am I?
And what do I see when I look at the sky?”
Said Betty, “How do I know which one to choose?
A book or the web, I’m really confused.”
“In order to search you use the web,
But books take ideas deeper into your head.
When you can use both with ease,
You’ll become a scholar, my dear niece.”
Hearing this Betty began,
To use the smart phone in her hand,
Comprehending better what she read in books,
By checking on the internet, how it looks.
“Ah!” said Betty, “Now I see,
How books and the internet are helpful to me”.
