Cole Says:

More Funny-Cute-Memorable Originals:

1. Cole still loves to read, but the way he reads sometimes can drive me a little batty. He requires something to be "read" on every page including pages without words or pictures, like the very first and last ones of every book. He also gives me 1/16 of a second to begin reading once a page is turned, and if I'm 1/24 of a second late, he says in a robotic voice, "READ IT." So starting a book often sounds like this:

Cole: "READ IT"
Me: "Harry the Dirty Dog"
Cole: "READ IT"
Me: "Green page"
Cole: "READ IT"
Me: "White page"
Cole: "READ IT"
Me: "Illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham". If there happens to only be copyright info on the page, he's happy for me to read him "Copyright 1956." He doesn't care what it is, he just wants me to read SOMETHING ON EVERY PAGE.

After all that, we can actually begin reading the story...I'm worn out.

2. On the same note of reading, Cole often pulls the next book from the top of the stack he's piled for us and says with excitement, "Hey! We like this book!" Always makes me smile.

3. We read a book called "Lentil" by Robert McCloskey about a boy who plays a harmonica. Cole was enamored by the idea of a harmonica and one day while I was putting on makeup he saw my shiny silver eye shadow case that's long and thin. He put it in his mouth and blew a few times and said incredulously, "Hey! It's not working!"

4. He has a Winnie the Pooh look-and-find book where you have to find objects hidden in the picture. One of the items in the picture is a trampoline. I asked him to find it which he did and then he said, "Hey, we saw one of those on Silly Videos (America's Funniest Videos). They fall off and hurt their "yeg" (leg)." I'm glad he knows what trampolines are good for...injuries :)

5. He's very interested currently in the background objects in pictures. If the main picture is a barnyard, he finds the tiny 18-wheeler on the highway in the background and that's what is most interesting to him. While looking through a book of family pictures I hear, "Hey! There's a heron!" I, not being able to recall any pictures of herons in my whole life history, go to see what he has found. Sure enough, there is a small heron on the corner of a postcard on one of the pages. He loves the small things that aren't the main part of the picture.



By Gene Zion