If you give a boy a book, he'll ask you to read it. When you read it, he'll ask you to read it again. Soon he'll have it memorized and ask if he can read it to you. You will say yes and be rewarded with a moment you won't soon forget.
This has been the pattern of my week, making for a pretty great week. I read this book to my 3-year-old three times before we even left the bookstore, and it made me realize how different it is to read this series of books as a mom. I loved the Mouse, Moose and Pig books, but I just thought they were fun reads. Now I realize there's a bit more to these little charmers. With their sing-songy, simple text , they make learning to read a lot of fun. My 5-year-old now knows how to spell cat and cupcake thanks to this book. He's still working on sprinkles. The other thing that strikes me about these books is how patient children can be. The animals are so demanding in this series of books, but you never see the children lose their patience. I certainly can't say that I'm that serene with the myriad number of requests my children ask of me each day. Part of me wants to believe that no real child would ever be that calm, but then I see my 5-year-old teaching my 3-year-old how to play a game on his Leapster, and I realize that it isn't a fairy tale. You see this sort of patience in the Max & Ruby series by Rosemary Wells, as well. Kids actually do have this skill. As adults we just need to encourage it in them by remembering to be more patient ourselves.
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