A Breakthrough

We started to read this book this evening. All summer long Seth has been jumping around from book to book saying that they are boring, too hard, too long, etc. I know that he really loves reading so I've been puzzled about this behavior. I keep telling him he needs to stick with one of them and finish it before the summer is over--and that time is quickly approaching. I picked this book up at Deseret Industries while I was in Utah because I had heard about it from my sister. The chapters are really short--1 to 3 pages or so each and there are some funny illustrations as well. I read the first 15 pages to the boys tonight. It starts out talking about Mr. and Mrs. Twit and how hideous they are. They are truly ugly people inside and out and I think as the book progresses they will get their comeuppance. In typical Roald Dahl fashion, he describes their revolting appearance in vivid detail from Mrs. Twit's glass eye to the sardine tail stuck in Mr. Twit's putrid beard. My kids were riveted. They listened quietly to every word and perused the illustrations with wide, fascinated eyes. When I closed the book and said I would read more tomorrow, Seth tentatively asked if he could read more of it right then. Joel piped up and asked if Seth could read it out loud and I acquiesced. I left the room with a little smile as Seth began reading to his brothers. I guess I've found what interests my boys--and it makes sense. They are little boys after all. I'm excited because beneath the gross descriptions and nasty pranks that the Twits pull on each other, there is a moral: "A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."