I picked up a couple of books for the kids at the library this week: Blue Jasmine, about 12 year old Seema, whose family moves from India to the USA; it was shelved in the young adult section, but I’m going to buy a copy for us for right now. (By the way: does anybody know whether age recommendations on kids’ books are supposed to refer to maturity of content or reading comprehension level?)

I also checked out The Whipping Boy, which I’m now reading aloud. The setup involves an unsympathetically mischievous prince, who by law cannot be spanked, thrashed, whacked, or whipped. (I had to stop reading to ask my kids why they were frowning at this, since there are laws against these things in our house, too. They asked why the prince couldn’t have time out in a quiet place until he was ready to make better choices.) (And I thought: hey, they’re looking for solutions! They recognize that actions have consequences! I’m a good parent!)

When the prince and his whipping boy run away and get caught by bandits who want a ransom, my kids both scoffed. “The king will never pay it,” Abigail said. “He won’t want that horrid prince back.” I tried to explain about parents loving their children even if those children do happen to be horridly behaved, but neither of them was buying it. “Maybe some kids,” they conceded, “but not that one.” (And I thought: Hmm, never mind about that “good parent” thing!)

So they’re practicing suspending their disbelief a bit while we read. It’s a useful skill. And they’re enjoying the story, even if they don’t think the king ever wants to see his arrogant and now-bedraggled child ever ever again.