Monday, May 25, 2015

A Demonstration of Cognitive Development (and the Lack of It)

On a rare trip to the big library with my children, I discovered The Bear Ate Your Sandwich in the new books section. As I started reading it to Second Son (who is four), Second Daughter (who is six) wandered over. In the book, a bear falls asleep in a truck and is transported to the city. He cavorts through the cityscape and plays at the park before discovering a sandwich left on a bench. On the final spread we discover the narrator, a sprightly little dog. Second Daughter laughed while Second Son waited patiently for the rest of the book.

I asked, "Do you think a bear really ate the sandwich?"

Second Son responds, "Well, yeah, because the whole book is about a bear."

Second Daughter, recognizing the joke, says, "No! The dog ate the sandwich!"

Second Son is still not quite sure...It might be a few years yet before he is.