Noun Girl Vs. Emily Elizabeth

For some time now, we've had a rivalry escalating here in the Mama's Magic household. Not sibling rivalry, exactly -- though it is manifesting itself as a contrast in preferences between What BB Likes and What BJ Likes. No, not something as simple or predictable as sibling rivalry. It's much quirkier than that. (Which, given our family, is perhaps not too surprising.)

To be specific, BB has taken a shine to Emily Elizabeth (of Clifford fame). And BJ has declared that he likes the Noun Girl from Schoolhouse Rock. BB likes Noun Girl OK, but for BJ, Emily Elizabeth is anathema. In fact, almost all things Clifford related are likely to lead to him launching into a diatribe about how much he dislikes Emily Elizabeth. (Apparently, this issue has shown up even at preschool -- the teacher informed us that the last time she tried to read a Clifford book to the class, he turned his back on her and every other kid in circle time, declaring, "I don't like Emily Elizabeth!")

Now one wouldn't think that these two fictional characters would have to be in competition with one another, but clearly that's the case in BJ's world. It took only a little prodding to figure out why -- to his mind, they are too much alike. As far as he's concerned, Emily Elizabeth is no better than a knock-off Noun Girl wannabe. Granted, they do have their similarities:



Never mind the fact that Emily Elizabeth is much better known .... for heaven's sake, she actually has a name and doesn't require elaborate explanation as to whom she might be! Whereas Noun Girl.... you can imagine the conversations I've had when BJ gets going about all this. ("Remember School House Rock from the 1970's? Those cartoons they used to play to teach kids? Remember the ones about grammar? No, not Conjunciton Junction. That was one of my favorites, too. BJ likes the one about Nouns. Yes, nouns. He especially likes the girl who is in the video....") I really try not to make him feel silly as he's overhearing my explanations, even though I often feel silly holding forth about it. (The other version of this conversation goes somethig like, "Oh, that's right, you weren't born back in the 1970's, were you? Well, there were these cool cartoons about grammar. Yes grammar....")


In spite of puzzled looks, his heart belongs to Noun Girl and that's all there is to it. It's been that way for weeks (if not months). The boy is nothing if not an individual.

I'm just grateful that BB is mostly patient with his insistence. And while the preference on his part is still strong, he showed a glimmer of flexibility last week when we were at the book fair at his preschool. He saw a Clifford book on the shelf (The Smallest Snowman) and asked if we could get it for his sister. "Because she likes Clifford and Emily Elizabeth!" Surprised, I pressed him for a promise that the book wouldn't pose a problem. I told him I wasn't going to be happy if we brought it home and it ended up causing him to fight with BB. "I won't," he assured me. And he's been true to his word!

Apparently, the addition of winter clothing and polka dot boots is enough to differentiate the two images in his mind. He'll even sit with us when we read the book, which is something he still refuses to do for other Clifford books. Who knew that accessories could be so important to a four-year-old boy?

Whatever the cause, I'm not complaining. Honestly, the whole thing is so odd and funny that I usually have to suppress a giggle even when it escalates to screaming between BJ and BB (which has happened more than once). I have to say, I anticipated doing some refereeing when I became a mom, but I never imagined I'd be negotiating this particular debate. Heck, I didn't even know the Noun Girl Vs. Emily Elizabeth debate existed!