'Mum, can you help me?' The voice at the end of the phone sounded desperate. What on earth can I do hundreds of miles away in the UK? Cautiously I said of course, if I can.
In the back ground I could hear five year old Thomas, 'Mom, why does the tiger have stripes?' My daughter sighed. 'I wish you were here then you could answer the constant stream of questions, honestly Mum, he drives me mad. All the time he wants to know stuff.'
Thomas had started 'real' school a few weeks ago and had learned to read really fast. An intelligent and curious boy, I knew it was important to feed his curiosity. Being mother to eight children, all very clever, does have its advantages and being a teacher also helps too.
The answer was simple, a children's encyclopedia. I had no idea what to look for but looking through Amazon's booklists, the DK First Encyclopedia seemed perfect. Lots of bright pictures, simple but detailed information.
A little while later my daughter called again.
'Mum the book is brilliant he doesn't need to ask so many questions about everything now.'
Detecting a note of 'but' in her voice, I questioned her.
'Mom, what does this word say?'
'See, he still asks questions, but at least we have the perfect book to look at to find the answers together, thanks Mum.'
I couldn't help laughing, Thomas wanted to run before he could walk. I'd hoped the pictures would do it but no, he wants to read it too. Still at least the questions were simpler to answer now. I know Thomas will soon be reading fluently but I am certain there will be a lot more questions yet for a busy working Mom to answer. Christopher is three, nearly time for him to start asking too, maybe Thomas will tell him. I recommend all children are treated to this encyclopeadia. It is brilliant!
A smiling Grandma in the UK.DK First Encyclopedia