Aslan VS. Dorothy

S has been reading a lot to the kids, starting in on bigger books than the typical picture book fare. (Though we still love us some good picture books!) It's been such fun to see both BB and BJ listening, rapt, as S brings the stories to life for them. I had expected that BJ would be ready for such longer tales, but it's been a nice surprise to see that BB has enough attention span for them as well. Much of the time, anyway.

S read The Wizard of Oz to them last month, and both kids loved it. BB in particular was very taken with Dorothy. (And demanded that we go out to buy her a pair of silver shoes -- after all, in the book they are silver, not ruby.) S has also been reading the Narnia books to the kids, and while both BB and BJ enjoyed The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, BB has decided that the sequels are not her cup of tea right now and goes so far as to insist that she not be in earshot when they read the Narnia books. BJ, however, is thoroughly enchanted. They are on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader now, and still going strong.

In particular, BJ has become fascinated with the character of Aslan. Last week, he was convinced that Aslan would come for a visit, if only Aslan could be found. He and S went on a long walk around campus, looking behind bushes for an invisible lion. BJ wrote notes to Aslan and left them outside our patio door. BB played along to a point, but then she decided to go dress up as Dorothy. (The girl does love her shoes.)

Once BB decided that she preferred Oz to Narnia, it was probably only a matter of time before a rivalry developed. BJ's intensity about Aslan made that more likely. But I have to say I was unprepared for how vividly it would manifest itself. And when I mean vividly, I mean vividly:

This is the picture that BJ drew of Aslan and Dorothy, to illustrate how much better Aslan is. As you'll see he has given us a number scale on the left side of the drawing. While Dorothy (the blue and orange figure on the left) measures only up to seven. Aslan (the big smiling creature on the right) is a 10.

So there you have it. Aslan VS Dorothy: Bigger Is Better.

No word yet on whether The Cowardly Lion might change the dynamics; surprisingly enough, BJ doesn't seem to have made the connection that There Is A Lion In Both Stories. (This from the kid who historically can't stand such resonances -- after all, he got all upset because Noun Girl looked too much like Emily Elizabeth. He still gets upset about that, in fact.) I suppose I should just be glad that he hasn't turned entirely against little Dorothy (and her little dog too). After all, she does rank a 7. Not too shabby.