Israel Folau Quotes

Of course, I've always read. I started when I was four years old and just didn't stop. I read all the time.

People say, 'All my son will read is 'Captain Underpants,' or 'My son is crazy about shark books, is that O.K.?' I want to be the person to say, 'Yeah, that's really O.K., as long as he's motivated to want to read.'

Kids think books are cool, especially when they see that people they think books are cool are reading.

I want to know why I read as a child with such a frantic appetite, why I sucked the words off the page with such an edge of desperation.

The kids I talk to are readers, and the craziest, the most dedicated readers you will ever see.

If you can get every kid to have found a book that he or she loves, then you've done a great job.

I was always a slow reader, from the very beginning. I remember in first grade our teacher divided us into groups, and I was definitely in the slow group. She didn't call it that, but everybody in the class knew. But I still loved reading. Being a slow reader affected my grades in school, but it didn't affect my love for reading. I still loved going to the library, and I still loved reading books.

Enrolling your child in a recreational sport sponsored by your neighborhood recreation community centers is a great way to keep kids active.

If I make a change to a young kid to play any sport, not only tennis, instead of spending time in front of the TV or computer, that is good. I want to give them a good example: 'Hey, go out and play and see the world.'

We must make sure that there is recess and P.E. class in every school, getting kids outside for 60 minutes, every day.

I was always active as a child. My dad tried to place me in every sport imaginable. I had so much energy, he wanted to push me in a direction where that energy was used appropriately to keep me out of trouble and focused while I was in school.

I am thrilled - I can't stress that enough - thrilled when I see kids getting active.

I'm just trying to get kids motivated to be readers by connecting them with a book they like.

I'm a sporadic reader. I have moments when I can't stop... then I kind of forget that I can read. But then I go, 'Oh God, yeah, books!'

I've always been like that. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, so I was always playing baseball and basketball and football and stuff as a kid with the boys.

Thanks to the comic book publishers. Batman and Captain Marvel were responsible for my learning to read at least a year before I showed up at school. They got me interested in writing. Started my first novel at about eight. The title: 'The Canals of Mars.'

As a father, I believe that involving children in sports at a young age is generally, a wise proposition. I believe that healthy competition is... well... healthy; that sporting events foster a spirit of teamwork that far surpasses the events themselves; and that active participation keeps children moving and is good for their self-esteem.

Children will not pretend to be enjoying books, and they will not read books because they have been told that these books are good. They are looking for delight.

I still get a great buzz from rugby.

I have never met an author who did not read voraciously as a child.

Kids say the No. 1 reason they don't read more is that they can't find books they like. Freedom of choice is a key to getting them motivated and excited.

The idea there were kids out there who didn't love to read and write just as much as I did struck me. So I went around schools and tried to make other kids love to read and write.

If parents could just get their children moving around in the most simple and fun ways - jumping in leaves, dancing to pop music, throwing socks in a laundry basket - they could be sowing the seeds of great habits that could last a lifetime. It is all about turning it into a game.

I was passionate about reading from an early age, and I would always be carrying a different book each week.

Children up to the age of seven are like sponges. They look up to adults and copy what they do. So I thought if I could create a positive role model - a superhero, if you like - who moves around and has a balanced lifestyle - then they would be motivated to move more.