monsters!

I don't have a ton of childhood memorbilia. Maybe other oldest children can identify with me, here- most of my books and toys became my sisters' books and toys as I outgrew them, and then found other homes among cousins and church friends.

I'm not complaining. The last thing I have space for, in my little apartment, is boxes of toy tractors and My Little Ponies that I'd never use. Well, maybe not never- I still do play with the Legos I took from home. But I can't imagine I'd get much use out of them, and I don't seem to be on a path to having children anytime soon, so I'm glad those things are where they're useful. If I ever do have a kid, I'm sure people will buy it more plastic crap than it'll ever need.

This book, however, is different. My dad used to read to me, and taught me how to read before I was three. This was our favorite book. He used to start by reading the cover, and then reading the entire title page...

The Monster at the End of this Book. Written by Jon Stone. Illustrated by Mike Smollin. Featuring Grover, a Jim Henson puppet. As performed on Sesame Street by Frank Oz.

...and so forth. I squeal at him that I wanted to turn the page, and he'd say "but you wanted me to read the book, right? This is what the book says. Published by Western Publishing Company...

I don't remember that at all, but my mom told me about it when I started reading this book to my sisters. It was an all-time favorite, but especially as their nail-clipping book. They'd sit still and let their nails be clipped if I would read them the tale of Grover being so scared of the monster, again and again. When I read it, I always began the same way that my dad had: The Monster at the End of this Book. Written by Jon Stone. Illustrated by Mike Smollin. Featuring Grover, a Jim Henson puppet. As performed on Sesame Street by Frank Oz. And, of course, my sisters would squeal. I read it over and over, until I could recite most of it- a useful skill, when busy clipping toenails.

Mom was so amazed at how similar I sounded to my dad when I read it, particularly since I don't remember him reading it to me. From the starting prank onward, my intonation and cadence matches the way he read it.

I asked him to read it to my sisters once, just to check. It was eerie, hearing my voice in him and realizing that it was really his voice in me.

This morning, I read The Monster at the End of this Book to Scot and Jen's girls. We sat on the floor, with Rosa on my lap, and I started in. The Monster at the End of this Book. Written by Jon Stone. Illustrated by Mike Smollin. Featuring Grover, a Jim Henson puppet. As performed on Sesame Street by Frank Oz.

Rosa didn't squeal at me. She just snuggled in for a good long read. She's obviously not related to me.

Point is, I miss my sisters. I am missing my sisters would be more accurate, missing them as they've gone from elementary school kids to young women. They were nostalgic when I said I was taking the book back to Indiana, and I offered to read it one last time, but it never quite happened. They'd have listened for old time's sake, but they don't need me to clip their toenails anymore.

Mom wanted me to find a home for some children's books, and I left the bag of them with Scot and Jen. I kept The Monster at the End of this Book, though. Maybe I'll read it at school sometime- seminarians need stories, too.