The other night my overtired seven-year-old had a bit of a meltdown. It was bedtime, and she was in the awkward position of being angry with me, but also needing me for comfort, because I was the only one home. She was stiff, and responding to me only with nods instead of words. So I asked her if she wanted me to read. Nod. I gestured to the stack of graphic novels next to her bed, and asked: "One of these? Or a picture book?" She lifted her chin towards the shelves of picture books. Then she finally spoke.
"I want Big Mean Mike."
Alrighty then. After a bit of hunting, I found Big Mean Mike (by Michelle Knudsen), and also ran across Donut Chef (by Bob Staake) along the way. We snuggled down to read. It only took a couple of pages for her to start pointing out details of Big Mean Mike, which we have read many, many times. She was soon cooing over the cuteness of the bunnies, and commenting on the talent of illustrator Scott Magoon. She took over some of the reading late in the book, and was pretty much back to her usual self by the time we moved on to Donut Chef (which we know more or less by heart). By the time we finished Donut Chef, she was ready to go to sleep.
I suppose this isn't really a milestone, because it isn't the first time that my daughter has turned to books for comfort. But it stood out to me that she knew that when she was sad, certain favorite picture books would do the trick. And of course she was correct. May she continue to find reading her old favorites with me a comfort for a long time to come.
Thanks for reading!
© 2017 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.