Why can&#x27;t reading and learning be part of being a kid?<p>OK I&#x27;ll admit dorkiness in public, I loved Tom Swift books when I was a little boy.  Couldn&#x27;t have had my childhood without reading Tom Swift books, wouldn&#x27;t trade it for anything.  The first book I ever sat down and read front to back was the one with the triphibian atomic car.  I was probably about 5.  Do not want to hear bragging along the lines of &quot;my first book was the Silmarillion at age 2&quot; but I&#x27;m sure this was not a unique childhood experience, especially here.