Alice Ozma and her father, however, never tired of reading aloud to each other.
In fact, they kept up their ritual for 3,218 days from when Alice was in 4th grade until her first day at college.
In her book The Reading Promise, Ozma remembers the books that she and her fa
ther read toge
ther, and why the tradition became so important to their lives and their relationship.
NPR recently featured Ozma’s story on their broadcast (listen to it here). Similar to the books they read together, including favorites When Zachary Beaver Came to Town and Great Expectations, the reading journey is a compelling tale.
According to this article, which also includes a short excerpt from The Reading Promise, Ozma’s f amily w
as going through a rough patch. Her parents had just split up, and her older sister
had recently left for college.
Reading together every night helped daughter and father deal with that difficult time.