TLB's Step-Gran gave him fifteen quids worth of book vouchers for Christmas and on Wednesday we went to Borders to spend them. He bought four books, three of which he chose, and one I found for him, called 'The Secret of Platform 13'.
I told him that now that he was eight I trusted him to turn his own light off and that he could read for half an hour after going to bed. On the first night, TBM went upstairs an hour and a half after TLB had gone to bed and found him, still with his light on, engrossed in the book.
Officially I do not know this. Officially, I think that he turned his light off after half an hour and to be fair to TLB, apparently his clock had stopped so he had no idea how late it was.
It's hard to keep this secret.
Anyway. He's obsessed with this book. It's the first time he's really obviously got the reading bug and it makes me very happy. When I was a little girl my Mum used to remove my light bulb because I wouldn't stop reading.
So for about three days the book is all he's talked about, and specifically about the 'Org's' in it. This evening I decided I needed to know what an Org was, so I asked him.
"It's a monster," he says.
"It's a monster I've never heard of" I say. "How do you spell Org?"
"O-G-R-E." he says.
***
Oh how we maketh the child. This is the son of the woman who read too much Famous Five, too early. I still want to pronouce Quentin 'Queentin', Bureau 'Burroo' and Quay 'Kway' even though I am now thirty three. TLB is following in my footsteps.
I give you the boy who will forever want to pronouce OGRE as 'Org':
