Day 493: Fragments of Paradise

It sounds suspiciously like a Harlequin romance novel, doesn't it, Fragments of Paradise? Or perhaps a Hallmark made for TV movie. Picture it: a young widow, in a futile attempt to escape her sorrow, flees to Tahiti… and into the arms of a complicated new love. In fact, it is neither of those things. In fact, it is Maddie’s favourite book, the full title being Fragments of Paradise: British Columbia’s Wild and Wondrous Islands. Maddie discovered it on the bookshelf at my mom’s house a couple of weeks ago and has not let it out of her sight since.

Fragments of Paradise accompanies us on the bus, on visits, to the doctor’s office. She and it are inseparable. Sure, it can feel a little bit strange reading aloud to a 16-month-old about tidal charts, lighthouse protocol and marine ecosystems, but she loves it and who am I to judge?

Some kids are wrapped up in classics like Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon. And while Maddie does enjoy flipping through a good lift-the-flaps board book, nothing excites her quite the way a coffee table book can. Besides Fragments, she also enjoys The Dog Encyclopedia (not quite as exciting for the narrator, as the answer to every question of “Dat?!” is essentially the same: “Yes, Maddie, that’s another dog”). And yesterday the current issue of National Geographic arrived and became an instant favourite as well.

Whatever her preference of material, it’s fun to see her starting to love her books already. I remember all the reading I did growing up: sitting in my room with The Paperback Princess, devouring Judy Blume books (Blubber? Freckle Juice? Classics!), sobbing when that bitch Jessica stole poor Elizabeth’s boyfriend in one of the endless sagas of Sweet Valley High.

I am sure Fragments of Paradise will be tossed aside before too long – Mads is not known for her enduring loyalty to these things – but I’ll always remember it as her first favourite book in what will hopefully grow to be a very long list.