Imagine!

Last week I picked up a little gem of a book from the library called The Gift by John Prater, a picture book with no text at all. The illustrations depict a brother and sister who receive two kid-sized chairs in a large box. They decide the box is far more interesting than the chairs. They climb in the box, close their eyes, concentrate really hard, and find that the box can fly! They sail over their British city and have a number of adventures in their magic box before deciding to return home.

Claire, of course, wanted her own magic box. Hand-me-down clothes from Claire's cousin arrive the next day, providing not only a big box for adventures, but also a pair of "ruby slippers"--red shoes covered with red glitter, probably from an Oz Halloween costume.

Perfectly equipped, Claire loads up Raggedy Ann and Winnie the Pooh and dons her magic shoes.

"When you're ready to come home," I instuct Claire, "just tap together your shoes and say 'There's no place like home'."

She nods solemnly and hops aboard her magic box. Moments later, as I gather laundry, Claire calls from her room, "Mommy! I'm 'maginationing I'm going to find a pirate ship under the ocean!"

Great days of adventure lie ahead.