While kids’ birthdays are occasions to celebrate, they are also a time to reflect on the years that simply flew past ……. a reminder of how fast they grow up…...grow out of and grow into new phases! Like….I can’t believe that my little one turned eight years old yesterday! Whoa!! Eight signals transition into the big league! Eight year olds are more self-assured (that means don’t look up to you for everything!) …think more critically (which means you cant get away with with vague explanations on sticky issues!) and move into independent reading, given the upper limit for most picture books being eight. Wait a minute…. …does it mean he has grown out of Onestoryaday….?? Err…..I haven’t!!!! J
Abhay’s eight birthday was a rather low-key affair compared to
his previous celebrations with the highlight being a special treasure of hunt for eight clues
leading up to nine gifts (as he will be stepping into his ninth year!) followed
by cake cutting and a restaurant dinner with close family and cousins!
As we look up the check list for milestones on turning eight and
compare how our not-so-little one fairs thereon, we find ourselves wondering whether
the present phase is better than the previous one…if not worst! J
So on the occasion of Abhay’s eighth
birthday, we read one of our Quentin Blake favourites “Zagazoo”, a book that speaks to parents as
well as their little ones! It begins like any love story between two likeminded
people, George and Bella who spend time together doing many things, including
making model aeroplanes or eating strawberry and vanilla ice creams when all of
sudden, they receive a parcel that contains a pretty pink creature resembling a
baby with a name tag “Zagazoo”. Needless to say, they were delighted and though
Zagazoo wasn’t perfect, he had a happy smile that made up for all the
imperfections! Then one day Zagazoo turned into a huge baby vulture with a
terrifying screech that was even worse at night! Just when George and Bella
were wondering how to cope, they discovered that Zagazoo had turned into a baby
elephant that knocked over furniture, pulled the tablecloth off the table and
ate anything that could lay his trunk on! Before they knew it, George and Bella
were baffled to see that Zagazoo change into various forms thereafter - a mud loving Warthog, a bad
tempered dragon, a bat, and then a hairy creature they couldn’t quite understand
and what’s more …..it was getting bigger, hairier and stranger! George and
Bella found themselves wishing to turn back time into the “Elephant” or the
“Warthog” phase instead! Read on as Bella and George’s hair turns grey with
worry as to what will happen to them or how will Zagazoo turn out…as Quentin
Blake entertains you with his hilarious yet realistic take on different stages
of childhood and growing up! Its only when your Zagazoo turns into a bad tempered dragon when you realize that the warthog was better - a story of all the parents...I guess! So….bring home the “Zagazoo” to your little Zagazoo and let
him decide whether he’s a warthog or a bad tempered dragon! J For now.....Happy Birthday my little
Zagazoo.....!!
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