Absolutely. Kids who read for themselves or who are read to, meet words. Words empower. I remember the 20-ish All Blacks supporter interviewed after our rugby team yet again failed to win the World Cup. ”Oh, mate,” he went. ”Words can’t express how I feel, mate.” Well, (mate), I thought at the time, if you’d read more when you were a kid, you’d have more words to express those feelings, and to handle them better.
