June 18, 2011 — Your first book

Dear William (and Daniel, Catherine, Michael & Baby Girl Y) (and your parents), (and any future descendants and their parents),

William, today is your Three Week Birthday — Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is now 6:07 am, and you were born at 6:02 am — you are getting older by the second.

Out of the photos from your first week of life, one stands out for me — it is the photo of your first book that your Parents bought for you.

That is you in the background, being held by your Dad; your Mom is on the right side, and Babcia Krysia is holding the book.

Anyways … I previously told you that education is good for you, for your family and for your friends. One of the keys to a good education is a good library. A library is a collection of books; and as most collections, they start with one — in this case, your first book.

Your first book is called Black & White, and its author is Tana Hoban.

— Hey William, did you know that I also wrote a book once … here is a picture of it (I will tell you more about it some other time):

Now, back to my story …

Here is my Father’s first book — it was authored by his Mom, your Great-Great-Grandmother Janina:

First Reading Book
belonging to George Kostro
1928 [at that time, my Father was 5 years old]

— William, do not get confused — the book is written in Polish; I am providing you with the translation, so, in most cases, the words do not match the letters:

A – Angel
B – Stork
D – House

C – Sugar-bowl
E – Etagere [a piece of furniture consisting of a set of open shelves for displaying small objects and sometimes having an enclosed cabinet as a base]
H – Swing
F – Piano