Magic Moments: Dear Zoo...

Aaaaages ago, when S was still too small to pick books up by herself, someone on Facebook was selling a pop-up copy of Dear Zoo. I bought it, thinking I could keep it for when S was older. I have a nice pile of books "for when S is older" in the corner of the room.

A little while back, when I acquired a nice shelving unit for S's toys, I put some of the books on the shelf. Dear Zoo ended up standing on a shelf, hidden almost completely by soft toys. It stayed there for a good few months while S was so busy playing with everything else, she didn't anything there.

Last Tuesday afternoon, I wandered into nursery to pick S up, and found her sitting in the book area, reading a small copy of Dear Zoo... I vaguely remembered that we had a copy of that somewhere at home, and thought perhaps I'd hunt it down next time I sorted through her toys. Then I promptly forgot, and went about my daily life.

Wednesday was our day off together, and because S has been rather poorly lately (and I wasn't feeling my best) we spent most of the day at home. She happily played with her toys while I pottered about, occasionally joining in with the playing. Towards the end of the afternoon, I noticed she was playing with a book... It was Dear Zoo.

On Thursday, she spent her time before and after nursery demanding that I read her Dear Zoo. We read it in my chair at the table, on the sofa, on the play mats, on the other sofa.

On Friday, more of the same.

Ditto for Saturday.

On Saturday evening when we went upstairs for bed, Dear Zoo came with us and we read it three times before bed.

On Sunday morning we read it together, and then S sat and read it herself. Then she demanded I strap her into the old buggy (currently in the bedroom for when S can't sleep; she can be rocked back and forth and sleep more upright to help with her cough), and she sat there and read Dear Zoo while I had a shower.

On Sunday evening after bath time, she read Dear Zoo while I put her nappy and babygro on. Then we read it together. Then she read it again. And then she had to have it in the cot with her when she went to bed.

This is what I found when I went up to check on her later:

For those that can't tell, the book next to Tigger is... yep, you guessed it. Dear Zoo.

This is a big deal for me because although S has enjoyed many books before, and there are other books she's attached to or enjoys reading, they have all been books I have chosen for her. When we go to the library, I pick out some books while she enjoys pulling them all off the shelf. If we buy a book, it's usually me choosing some while she sits in the pushchair or sling and enjoys looking around or playing with the book attached to the pushchair (it makes a noise). 

This book is the first one she's clearly just decided she loves. She reads it at nursery, and then she comes home and reads it here. I didn't try to get her to read it, or even put it in front of her - she went looking for it.