Passing It On

Regular readers here will already know how much I love stories like the one I'm featuring here - another one about an avid reader whose memory will be celebrated by future readers thanks to the efforts of someone who loved him.

(Washington Post photo shows Susan Kamins giving books to Gabriela Miner at Whetstone Elementary School.)

This time around, the story comes via The Washington Post:

Even before he could read, Aaron Kamins was fascinated with books. Kamins was 21 when he died of cancer two years ago, and his mother is keeping his memory alive at Whetstone Elementary School by helping spread his love of reading.

Susan Kamins, a kindergarten teacher at the Montgomery Village school, collected more than 600 books and distributed two to every student March 4 in honor of what would have been her son's 23rd birthday.

"I wanted to do something to commemorate him, and he always loved books and reading," said Kamins, of Germantown.

[...]

"It's the best dream come true, because now I have my own Nancy Drew book that I can read whenever I want," said Jeeva Thaivalappil, 10, of Montgomery Village, after carefully choosing her books. Paola Flores, 6, of Montgomery Village, was excited to read her books because "I like to imagine," she said. "You can do anything."

I've probably said it before, but I really can't think of a better tribute to a book lover - or one that will do more practical good. The beauty of something like this is its potential to create a handful of new readers, readers that might have otherwise never existed. Love it...even if their future holds only e-books rather than real ones.