In the "Ramona Quimby" books, Ramona copes with existential horror; she is wearing a costume, for Halloween, and she entertains the thought that *no one* in her world might recognize her. If no one sees her as Ramona, then who is she?
I tried to play a game with my daughter; I asked, "Are you my cinnamon donut?"
To my surprise, Susie was sort of furious. "I am *not* your cinnamon donut. I am Susie."
"Are you my berry lollipop?"
"I am *not* your berry lollipop. I am Susie."
I understand that I myself am impetuous, but it's a new experience to see this same behavior in a tiny human. Susie will not accept any help, when approaching her carseat, but, also, she lacks a plan; she just hurls herself at the seat, then gets distracted. She throws a look over her shoulder, to give me new instructions: "Papa, do NOT help me. Do NOT carry me right now."
Except that she has heard the question, "Carry you?" many, many times, so that she thinks the two words are just one polysyllabic verb. She says, "Do NOT carryooo me!"
We're reading many William Steig books--but (heresy alert) they aren't my favorite. They tend to be ostentatiously wordy and short on plot. We're having better luck with "The Mysterious Tadpole," by Steven Kellogg, which is a celebration of resourcefulness. I do *not* think Susie would describe it in this way. She would say: It's about the Loch Ness Monster.
Susie understands that she has a birthday approaching--but she gets irritated if someone mentions that her dog *also* has a milestone on the horizon. "It is NOT Salvy's birthday...It's for SUSIE...."
This is something we can tackle....together.....
So, I know that the point of your entry isn't about the Kellogg book, but considering my "babies" are 29 and 23, I was half weepy at the memory of that lovely book! At the time when your child is young, it's impossibly hard to imagine them so far ahead, and at this point, it's shocking to me that they've become adults! Anyway, thanks for the flash of cozy evenings (and mornings and afternoons) reading that to them!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sending! I love that book. His illustrations are wonderful and he clearly has fun with the story. I'm so happy to hear I could inspire a flashback -- thank you for letting me know. :-)
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