Classic Answer of the Day

"Grey, what happened? Why did you rip the book?"
"Because I ripped it," says Grey.
"Did you rip it on purpose?"
"Uh-huh."

I am not used to having a toddler who rips books. Jane wasn't much of a ripper. There was a book incident once: it ended with me explaining to an Orem librarian that my daughter had nibbled on Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. We have it still, if you ever want to see or borrow it.
Grey does really well for the most part, but he has destroyed several books in his short life. I should point out, though, that some of these were board books that were new when Jane first had them, and the toll of one toddler--a dented corner here, a torn piece of cover there--proved too much temptation for his busy hands. He has unraveled the zoo animals of Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do you Hear? He liked the last flap of Baby Danced the Polka so much he ripped it out. I wanted to buy the book anyway, but now we have this copy where the last page has a headless dream baby.

I would be more curious, but Grey really loves books. Sometimes I worry that the little guy isn't making enough noise--isn't that usually a sign of trouble?--so I search for him, bracing for a huge mess. Most of the time, I find him in the nursery, sitting on the floor with a pile of books, paging through one quietly. He sneaks books at bedtime, and it's not unusual to find him curled in his bed in a stash of books he's been perusing by nightlight. One of the first places he recognized without our help: the library. Almost every time we go somewhere in the van he asks, "Can we go to the library?"

Grey's favorites: Goodnight Moon, "Babar Colors" (Babar's Book of Colors), "Babar Counting," (Babar's Book of Counting) Pajama Time (ooooooh yes!), The Belly Button Book, Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys, Little Hoot, Piggies, and the Pig and Elephant Books.