Now, I know he has seen it before, but something about it this time caught his attention, and he hasn't been able to stop talking about it since. That night he said "moon" over and over as he pointed out the car window. When we got home, he wanted to stand and look at the moon, and when we went inside he cried for a minute as he reached out for the moon. Fortunately, Lennie's greeting distracted him from crying too long or from obsessing over the moon a moment longer, or so I thought, because all of a sudden he was closing the front door and saying "bye bye moon." It was seriously such a sweet moment. So sweet in fact that when he ran to the couch pointing to the window repeating "moon, moon, moon" I lifted him up to see it once more.
As he went to bed that night I read him a story I've been reading him since he was about five months old, reciting it sometimes when I would turn out the light, or just wanted to snuggle him with both arms. And can you guess what this book was?
Coincidence...I think not! Ironically enough about 3 weeks ago I added in another book, that I love, to his nighttime stack. He hasn't really had the patience to make it through the story yet, but he loves looking at the pictures. It is a great book that I read in grad school for a children's lit class I took, and it's based loosely off of the famous book "Goodnight Moon". It's called "Goodnight Opus" and it is quickly becoming Zach's favorite book to look at before bed.
He even runs into his room and says, "Moon book" or "Opus" this means he wants to look at the illustration of Opus in the Milky Way which has in the corner....you guessed it, a picture of the moon. His fixation is so cute, and he runs to the window at all times of day asking to see the moon. I have tried to explain that the moon isn't out in the daytime, that the sun is out, but I know he doesn't want to hear that. (Plus, I also know I am technically lying, since the moon is there, we just can't see it in daylight.) He is patient though, and when he gets the chance he runs to his books and finds the pictures of the moon. He is so proud of himself and I must say I am proud of him too. He is getting to be so knowledgeable and expressive and I love how his eyes light up at his discoveries. I don't know how long his fascination will last, but I do know I will feign excitement every day that he runs to that window, and every time he pulls the books out to show me his moon. I also know that there is nothing sweeter in life than watching my baby grow into a little man. (As an English teacher and lover of literature, I'm also tickled blue that he loves books so much!)
What books do/did your little ones adore as they're drifting off to sleep?
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