Now, though, he tells me when he doesn't like things that are happening: characters that he dislikes, especially people that he thinks are bad, or turns of events he wishes would be reversed. We're reading Sky Island, one of Baum's Oz-adjacent fantasies (yes, I am way behind on writing up our Oz readings), and every time the villain pops up, Son One suggests that he ought to turn into a statue. (This happens to a couple characters in The Patchwork Girl of Oz.) The villain has taken Button-Bright's magic umbrella, and every time this is mentioned, Son One says he ought to get it back. Similarly, my wife is currently reading him Charlotte's Web, and Son One is not a fan of the idea that Wilbur could be killed and turned into bacon. Pretty natural reactions, all—but not ones he was having back in July when we first started reading chapter books out loud.
I've also notice that this is happening with movies, too. This weekend we watched the original Disney One Hundred and One Dalmatians. When the Badduns appeared on screen, he declared, "I think they are bad guys!" Good deduction. Though, then when they came up to the door of Radcliffe home and announced they were there to fix something, he said, "Oh, they're not bad guys."
He is making inferences, but they are not always accurate ones. This sequence doesn't explicitly show the puppies being kidnapped; Nanny goes down to the puppy bed and finds it empty. I explained to him what had happened, and he replied, "No, I think the puppies went for a walk." When we finally see the puppies again in Hell Hall, Son One exclaimed, "Oh, that's where they went. They moved to a different house!" Well, kind of.
It has made for a more enjoyable experience all around; he is now much more likely to laugh at things that happen in the books he listens to, and react positively or negatively. I am curious to see how this keep on developing!
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