A few weeks ago, I saw this familiar old (and very old-fashioned) poem on the wall of the children’s room of the Concord, NH public library.

Books are keys to wisdom’s treasure
Books are gates to lands of pleasure;
Books are paths that upward lead;
Books are friends. Come, let us read.

It’s from  Rhyme Time for Children (1929), by Anne Emilie Poulsson (1853–1939), who Wikipedia tells me was, among other things, an American children’s author and campaigner for early childhood education.

I love this little verse not just because I love books, but because it’s so of its time.