This is my first blog ever!  My blog title probably sounds more like a musician reading a book.  However, the "piper" referred to is my grandfather.  He was not a musician, but did smoke a pipe.  My grandfather lived on the other coast of Florida in Stuart.  As a young child, I loved visiting his house.  There was so much activity there.  He had 11 children and 2 of them still lived at home - my Uncle Bruce and my Aunt Betsy.  Often there were other cousins visiting at the same time.  My grandparents had a large house and an even bigger yard to explore with plenty of spooky woods surrounding it. 
 
But, my favorite time was the time spent reading with my Grandpa.  We sat in his comfortable chair and he would always allow me to choose any book I wanted.  He usually had a pipe lit and that just seemed to be a part of our reading together.  He had bookshelf after bookshelf full of books.  Almost always, I chose a French book for him to read.  While Grandpa spoke the language fluently, I didn't understand a word of it.  But I would sit and listen to him read to me in French every chance I could.  It was a source of comfort to me.
 
When my grandfather passed away, he left his entire book collection to me.  There are some valuable books in that collection, but I will never part with the French books.  They are relatively small and I still don't know what the words inside mean.  Now they are just a sentimental keepsake, some dating back to the 1800s.
 
Those early experiences started me on my journey to a love of reading.  For as long as I can remember, books have been important to me.  Children learn constantly from reading, not just from nonfiction, but any kind of book.  The more experiences we can provide for them, the more they will learn.  This is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a teacher.  Helping students develop a love of reading is priceless!