When E. was born, nearly 2 years ago now, he received a really beautiful, illustrated copy of “The Wind and the Willows” from one of Paul’s friends.
At 229 pages, I figured this was a book we would largely ignore until E. became old enough to listen to chapter-length bedtime stories.
But lately E. has been really into his “big book.”
He hoists it off the shelf with both hands and drops it on my lap.
“Heavy,” he says, with satisfaction.
Then we flip through the pages and talk about the drawings of Mr. Toad, Mr. Mole, boats, cars and countryside. One of his favorite pictures shows a couple of animals having a picnic in the grass.
“What are they eating?” I ask.
“Watermelon,” E. says decisively, though there’s no watermelon in sight.
“Tea,” he adds. “Toast.”
“If you were going to have a picnic, what would you take to eat?” I ask next.
“Crackers!” he says….