Dented Nerd

Last night we visited the book fair at Charlie’s elementary school. After perusing the shelves, he chose Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl comic. I balked, feeling compelled to coach him toward a book that I felt was more substantial, less comic-y, more “readerly” … Then I remembered Neil Gaiman’s warning about pushing my reading choices on him, rather than endorsing and encouraging books that he will be thrilled to go home and devour.

So I paused, and then said, “Neil Gaiman says you can get the book you’re excited to read.” And I was excited that he chose a book about a spacegirl, and Charlie agreed to read aloud to me from it, and we went home happy, and I am so looking forward to reading Zita this weekend.