When you give a girl a book, you give her the greatest gift you could ever give her. When you give a girl a book, you give her the gift of education. If she can learn to read, she can learn to do just about anything. A book is an opportunity. An opportunity to learn, to understand the world, to form opinions. When you give a girl a book, you affirm her right to an education. You affirm her right to have an equal education to boys, her right to have equal opportunities, equal jobs, equal pay.
When you give a girl a book, you are telling her that it is okay to dream. You are telling her it is okay to have imaginary worlds and to think up things that nobody else ever could. You are telling her to look for the life she wants. More than just telling her it is okay, you are encouraging her to dream big.
When you give a girl a book, you are telling her that her opinion matters. Her opinion on all sorts of things. From politics, to women's rights, to what type of car she wants to drive, and to many other things. Her opinion on everything matters. And that's what you're telling her when you give a girl a book.
When you give a girl a book, you teach her that any lifestyle she chooses is okay. You teach her to be her own person, that it is her choice to be or to not be a mother, it is her choice to choose an engineering degree or a fine arts degree, it is her choice to choose who she builds relationships with. You are teaching her that no matter her sexual orientation, or her chosen career path, or her life goals, what she chooses is okay and is good.
When you give a girl a book, you are telling her you care, because a book is the greatest gift you could ever give her. When you give a girl a book, you put the world at her fingertips.
