Child's play on Tancook Island brims with adventures both on and off the page.

My Auntie Tib, a librarian, introduced me to reading at a very early age. How fortunate I am to have had her as a major influence. Through books I have travelled, learned, developed new friends, visited exciting places, and so much more. Of all the things I've learned in my life I think that reading has given me the most pleasure-with fly-casting a close second, of course.

What about you? What gives you the most joy? Is it a skill like painting or carving, or learning to play a musical instrument? Or maybe you get more pleasure from something in your professional life. Does the satisfaction come from interaction with others or from doing something on your own? Is it from major events, or does the delight come from something more modest?

Recently I did an Internet search on the phrase "small is…" and discovered that small is bountiful, beautiful, powerful and essential, but perhaps more importantly, small is the new big. I couldn't agree more with these descriptions, especially since my visit to Big Tancook Island. Don't let the adjective "Big" fool you-the island is a small one, just off the coast of Nova Scotia, with a population of approximately 125 year-round residents.

The purpose of my visit was to talk with students at Big Tancook Elementary School. The one-room school-one of the last in Canada-has a happy feeling as soon as you enter. The classroom has a couch, crafts of all kinds, a few tables and chairs, a history of the year's activities on the walls, and a cat named Spanky, who lives there. (Spanky wasn't well on the day of my visit, but I'm told that she has since recovered nicely.)

Students attend elementary grades on the island then go by ferry to a school in Chester, on the mainland, for higher grades. This year the total school complement on Big Tancook is three: Megan Baker, in Grade 5, and Dylan Baker and Zachary Dionne, in Grade 2.

Last winter the island school entered the WOW! Reading Challenge. Approximately 80 schools-in Ireland, England, the US and Canada-competed. Reading books is the basis of the challenge; the winner is the school with the greatest number of books read per student, from November to April.

The program was created about 10 years ago by Pictou County, NS, RCMP Constable John Kennedy, and is part of a larger crime prevention program. The theory is that by improving literacy skills, developing self-esteem and making better decisions, young people will be less likely to engage in crime and activities such as bullying. Police, libraries, businesses and community groups work in partnership with schools; students record the names of the books they read both at school and at home.

Last year the three students at Big Tancook Elementary School won the challenge, with 632 books read by each of them! Their teacher, Elizabeth Sutherland, proudly commented on their reading ability and explained how they were able to relate what they had read to their lessons. Zachary, the entertainer and talking machine of the group, quickly began to impart information: a bee's body is too heavy for its wings but it doesn't know it; there are 10 kinds of ants, and the workers are females; the drones are male and they sleep. I'm sure Zach would have kept going but we had to button his lip while encouraging Dylan to overcome his shyness.

All three kids talked about the books they read, sometimes all talking at the same time. Their excitement grew as they reminisced about Seven Little Rabbits, Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses, and Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilet. Though the competition ended last April, all three continue to read constantly.

We went to Zachary's house for lunch; he showed us his "briefcase:" a small trunk that he fills with books when he goes to the library or to a bookstore. After lunch we ventured out to the "enchanted forest," a delightful spot through the bushes and into the trees behind the house. Little patches of stones, a shaded garden and a chicken coop with a few well-named hens live in this charming spot.

At one point during my visit Zachary wanted to gain my attention, but had forgotten my name. No "hey you" or "missus" came to his mind-instead he used his creative energy to belt out "SALTSFEAR," remembering that I had something to do with a magazine that had "salt" in its name. Of course it got my attention!

The main prize for winning the competition was $3,000 for the purchase of books. Elizabeth will see that the money is well spent, and find space somewhere in the school for the new books. There will be five students next year: three just beginning, while Megan moves to the school in Chester. It looks like there will be eight students the following year…that should make the Christmas concert a little easier to do than it will be this year!

During the award presentation the kids were asked what they would like to receive as a prize. Megan and Dylan both said "a book;" Zachary replied "popcorn." I don't know if he got the popcorn, but they all got gift certificates for meals at some of the fast food chains, a plaque, a wall hanging with their picture on it, and tickets to the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. They also received $250 to help upgrade their playground. Their main delight, though, was looking forward to the new books that would soon arrive.

Big Tancook provides these children with a lifestyle-which includes lots of books-that you don't often see these days. It's an environment that's safe to explore. There are few vehicles on the island, everyone knows everyone else, and people look out for each other. Kids are special, and adult eyes look out for their welfare while letting them develop on their own.

Kids and adults engage in all sorts of activities together-crafts, games at the recreation centre, bingo, construction and, of course, fishing, which is their central industry. They go on snake hunts together; one time the kids picked up a special ring-necked snake that currently resides at the Museum of Natural History, in Halifax.

Not long ago the kids helped to keep a beached 18-foot pilot whale alive until it could be returned to deeper water. Megan spent all day pouring water over it to keep it from baking in the sun. I imagine she kept a running commentary of stories going while she worked. The whale lived, and I suspect it carried the stories back to its cohorts in the underwater world!

It was a privilege to be part of Megan, Dylan and Zach's world, if but for a day. They transported me back many moons ago to a similar environment in northern New Brunswick. I can attest to the good grounding that reading and a safe environment provide, and will keep my fingers crossed that their lives will be as pleasurable as mine because of it.