Dreams and Salvador Dali

Every night three books are read to my mini men before they close their little eyes. Usually it’s the same staple diet of Thomas the Tank Engine, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and a Golden book. I tend to skip through some of the pages because I get bored with the same book over and over again, but the boys are quick to detect all manner of tomfoolery whilst they jump from bed to bed in their shared bedroom.

On my recent trip to Melbourne, I decided I’d buy them a new book to get both sides interested and invigorated again.

I was waiting for my dear friend to finish work so I wandered around the Melbourne Museum in Carlton and was fascinated by a section on the human brain. There was a picture and plaque on how human neurons develop rapidly before the age of three, hence, for example, why children are most able to learn a second language easier than adults.

Mild panic came over me as I thought of the boys having difficulty at school and learning from not reading books properly, then they would drop out of school and become-¦ oh my god, the thought!

On my trip to the NGV, I picked up a children’s book called -˜Dali and the Path of Dreams’ and was eager to show the boys as it combined art, which my eldest son already has a keen eye and hand for, imagination development and fun to read (for daddy).

On my return when they boys stayed over one weekend, I told them of this -˜special’ book (said with wide open eyes, and hushed tones whilst pulling the book out from behind my back). Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads with excitement as we nestled down to read.

The boys loved the images of melting pizza clocks, clouds shaped like lions and umbrellas and keys under the sea, however it did seem a little dark on reading it aloud.

The next time they came over, we got the special book out again and as soon as we turned the last page, my youngest said -˜hey dad, read the book with the purple shoes on the tigers head, it’s funny’-¦

So the moral to this story is you can’t please every crowd, every time, but don’t let it stop you pushing the envelope and trying something new.

Even if you do come back to the trusted old Golden Book, don’t ever be afraid of the unknown.