Bookworm

After months of literally screaming and running away whenever Mom or Dad would try to read her a story, Carmela has recently begun showing an interest in books. The interest in them is more as objects of manipulation and not so much as stories, which is typical of her age and temperament, and so the best kinds of books are sturdy, bright, and textured. Her Auntie Chris came through in the best way recently with a stack of great board books, many of them with textures. One is a counting book with little plastic snails (who, sadly, diminish in number in suspicion-arousing ways over the course of a catchy nursery rhyme). A couple others have pictures of farm animals with really great furry patches that Carmela loves to dig her pointer finger into — enrapt, she burrows her finger into the fuzz or fluff or whatever, then she carefully turns the page and digs her pointer finger into the next one. This has led to a renewed interest in her FeelyBugs book, which her Aunt Tauni got her when she was still a little baby, and which has been a favorite book for quite some time. Now, though, Ela actually understands that there are textures on each page, and she really enjoys exploring them. Mom and Dad hope this is the entree into a lifetime of loving books for everything they have to offer (including, sometimes, great textures).