That’s how I stumbled upon a
book cover with a young boy sitting on a fence. It was Abraham Lincoln,
a nonfiction book by Ingri & Edgar Parin D’Aulaire.

I recognized the name “Abraham
Lincoln” immediately as belonging to a President of the United States. I knew
that presidents were leaders and extremely important people. So here I was
holding a book about an important person with a shiny circle on the cover. I
was sold. 

I took the book home and
started reading it right away. I don’t remember much, except one scene where
Abraham plays a trick on his stepmother, Sarah, by making muddy footprints on
the ceiling. I laughed so hard, not at the prank, but at the idea that a president
. . . A PRESIDENT . . . acted in such a silly way. 

When my teacher saw me
carrying the library book, she gave me another title about Abraham Lincoln. I
read it just as voraciously as the first one.

It was with this book that I
discovered the joy of bringing a flashlight into my bed so I could keep
reading. I remember hiding under the covers with anticipation as I read about
Abraham Lincoln traveling down the Mississippi on a flatboat. I thought that
was insane! What if his boat tipped over? What if he was swept away in the
current? Was he scared? Or was he excited? I wanted to know! I wanted to learn
everything I could about him.

I realized I could learn
about all kinds of people through books—kings, queens, actors, adventurers.

And not just people! There
were books that could teach me how to play chess or grow a garden or learn sign
language. I felt like a new world had been opened to me. Books were not just
stories. 

There was a feeling I had
then that I was not able to put into words.

As a child, you feel
powerless. You are told how to dress, what to eat, when to sleep, where to go.
You have no control over anything in your life. But I began to realize that
when I went to the public library, I had control over what I could learn

I could choose a book about
any topic I WANTED. If I want to learn about Marie Antoinette or grizzly bears
or the history of bicycles, I could. For the first time in my life, I felt
powerful. And I have been a nonfiction reader ever since. 

I think that feeling contributed
a lot to my decision to become a public librarian. The public library was a
safe place where I could make my own choices.

Every day I get to help
community members find information on their own passions. And my favorite
part is that I have easy access to the biographies of business entrepreneurs
that my 10-year-old son loves to read. 

Many adults think children’s
nonfiction books are boring. They think of them as Brussels sprouts—the books they
were forced to read in school.

But there are those of us
who are passionate about nonfiction, as children and as adults. We cherish these
books for the knowledge they provide.

Please remember that the next
time a child asks for a good book to read. Maybe just like me, they’re a nonfiction
lover. And in that moment, you have the power to help them become a lifelong
reader.

Jayme Bosio is a
Research Librarian at the Palm Beach County Library System in sunny South
Florida. She has been a nonfiction reader for more than 40 years and loves to promote
nonfiction titles to the community. She enjoys music, stand-up comedy, learning
on Duolingo, and reading with her son.