“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” This is what Walt Disney, the creator of cartoons and stories that mesmerised generations of children and adults, had to say about books and reading.

As World Book Day is celebrated tomorrow, this quote puts in a nutshell the message that so many people today continue to ignore. There was once a time when reading a good novel or thriller was the perfect pastime. Gone are the days when Christmas could not come quickly enough so that book presents could be opened.

Today, children seem to have more interest in playing the latest video games, sitting in front of the computer and chatting away with friends, or else staring at a television screen for long hours. It is easy to say that modern ‘toys’ are keeping people away from reading a good book.

Today, only those books that are part of the school curriculum are read, or supposed to be read. How many children today use up part of their free time after school to read a book? Very few indeed.

It is therefore not surprising that many children struggle with their languages at school. They find it hard to come up with interesting essays and find it difficult to answer ‘comprehension’ questions, mostly because their vocabulary is limited. And where does one get his or her vocabulary? From books, of course.

Parents who want to encourage their children to read more do not find support and sometimes they give up. How many times are they going to tell their kids to stop watching TV or play computer games to pick up a book and getting no positive response?

There are parents who try to lead by example, but their children do not take the hint. The problem is that if today’s children are not reading, or not reading enough, how will they tell their own kids to read? Books offer a world of knowledge and entertainment that is unfortunately being lost.

It would be unfair to say that nothing is being done to improve the situation. Over the past few years, the Education Ministry has gone great lengths to improve local libraries. A number of initiatives have also been introduced to encourage children and adults to read more.

Recent statistics are not available, however according to the Kultura Survey in 2000, 21.9 per cent said that they had read at least one book for study purposes during the reference year while 44.1 per cent of the target population said that they had read at least one book for other reasons (e.g. for pleasure) during the reference year.

Just under 14 per cent said that they visited libraries at least once during the reference year for leisure. 56 per cent do not read anything at all. It is also worrying that 11 per cent, or 36,500 people, do not know how to read and write (data for 1995).

These figures confirm the importance of World Book Day and the need to encourage people to read good quality books, magazines and newspapers. The adaptation to the big screen of classic books like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, has helped people rediscover the joy of reading.

The message that we need to put across is that reading should not be seen as a chore but as an opportunity to relax and to stimulate one’s mind. Reading textbooks alone will not give children a wider view of “life” that can be found in other books. Even if children (and parents) tend to shun the classics, there are hundreds of authors whose books can inspire, educate and entertain.

Educators, on the other hand, need to encourage their students to read as much as possible. They should suggest good authors and titles and convince them that a visit to the library should be a regular inclusion in their diary. The pleasure gained from playing a computer game can never compare to the joy and treasure gained from reading books.

That should be the message on World Book Day – and every other day of the year!