Fox in Socks

Joe is the best daddy. He reads Fox in Socks at least twice a day to the girls. Zenna is the one who is totally in love with it, but they all quote the book frequently. I love hearing them tell each other all about the tweedle beetles battling in a puddle in a bottle on a noddle eating poodle.

Abigail and Olivia have recently developed an aversion to Fox in Socks. When they see the book in Zenna's hands, they usually ambush her and steal the book. Then they hide it, and she screams at the top of her lungs until they realize they aren't getting away with anything. When that fails, Abigail will be bold and try to steal the book from Daddy. That doesn't usually work either, as he is so much stronger. Her next tactic is to scream "No Fox in Socks! You can't read this book!" at the top of her lungs until the book is over.

Last night I heard the older girls plotting. Abigail was coaching Olivia, "Go out there and be naughty! Tell him we won't listen to Fox in Socks anymore!" Olivia agreed, and timidly went out and whispered that they wouldn't listen anymore. Then she ran back into her room and reported that he was still reading it. She doesn't have her heart into committing someone else's wickedness. They then decided to camp out in their room until the book was over. Which they did. When the book was over they came out cheering.

Zenna still loves the book, and took it to bed with her tonight. Whether just because her sisters hate it, or because she has a genuine appreciation for ridiculous tongue twisters, we'll never know.