dear zoo

Aaron is obsessed with any and all vehicles. In the course of any given walk outside, he'll point and shout "BUH!!!"(bus) "CAHH!!"(car) "GUK!!"(truck) or "UPPEH!!"('up there' or 'airplane'). Occasionally, "Gou Gous" (dogs) are a subject of interest as well, but he really loves his modes of transportation. It follows naturally that his favorite toys are his cars, trucks and trains, and he only enjoys books that feature one of those subjects. (Side note: Sometimes books that have small pictures of cars or trucks in the background are also acceptable, or even favored, as they provide an element of fun to the pointing and identifying.)

I was getting a little tired of only reading TRUCKS and PLANES and TRAINS and BOATS, so the other night I pulled out an old favorite, "Dear Zoo".


We read it through once and he seemed okay with it, in that he wasn't actively pushing it away, protesting "No-No-No-No", so we decided to read it again. This time I decided to spice it up with some animal noises, and when we got the lion page, I let out a loud "ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR". Aaron, who had been contentedly drinking his milk, burst out laughing in surprise and sprayed his mouthful of milk all over our bed.

I've since learned that the ROAR is handy for guaranteeing a laugh when I'm trying to get him to open his mouth so I can brush his teeth. And he's usually so delighted afterwards that he doesn't even mind the toothbrush.