National Read Across America Day Here At Friday Jones Publishing House

It's never to early to read to children. Or too late.

Happy Read Across America day!

My baby book indicates that one of my first spoken words was"book." Half a century later, I still give lip service to books. As a publisher, an author, a journalist, a ghost writer, a copy writer, and, of late, a blogger, Tweeter, Examiner, and Facebook aficianado, and moreover a reader, I bow to the written word.

Photo by Quincy Benton for Friday Jones Publishing

The image shows a volume from a set of books that enchanted my childhood. These books brought to bear an enormous influence on my creation of the design for "Glass Halo," my first novel.

When I began visualizing the art direction for my first novel, "Glass Halo," the book took shape in my mind's eye with strong influences from the Arts & Crafts Era. In particular, book designs by William Morris stood out for me. As I formulated my own ideal cover and page layouts, I researched artful books of the bygone era because I saw a similar passage: Just as the Arts & Crafts Movement responded to the Industrial Revolution, I responded to the digital age.

At Friday Jones Publishing, books are held in esteem. Our books bear the imprint of joy in the work.

Here's a link to the Presidential Proclamation on Read Across America day, from which I pulled this excerpt:

"Hidden in the pages of books are extraordinary worlds and characters that can spark creativity and imagination, and unlock the potential that lies within each of our children. Reading is the foundation upon which all other learning is built, and on Read Across America Day, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting America's next generation of great readers."

It's never to early to read to children. Or too late.