Respecting books I am a resident of West Ashley. I am a pre-school teacher at one of our local private schools. I had to let Fran Hawk know how much her article inspired me.

After reading her column, I felt like running to the book store and buying every book I could afford to send to Kenya. I couldn't wait to read "Books for Oliver." I recommend that "Books for Oliver" should be read in all day-care facilities and public schools throughout America.

As a teacher, I can relate to some of the behavioral patterns of some of our children toward education and especially the way some of our children abuse books. What a privilege it is to be able to go to the library and read any book you desire. We have bookmobiles that come to our schools at least twice monthly. What a blessing to have this advantage here in our country.

It breaks my heart when I see children tearing pages out of books, kicking books across the classroom floor and just being hostile to their books.

We need to teach our children to respect, protect and treasure books. Books serve a beneficial and helpful purpose in our lives.

What would it be like if we were not able to have books like the children in Kenya and other parts of the world? We would be uneducated. Books inspire, entertain and educate our children.

Let's all * the teachers, mothers, fathers, grandparents and everyone who have the opportunity to be a part of our children's lives * teach them to appreciate the books that they are blessed with.

Della Ellison