Mom, what happens if you tell someone you have a crush on them?
I start to speak.
What is a crush, mom?
A crush is when you have romantic feelings for someone and you like them more than a friend. It’s perfectly normal to have a crush.
She considers this for a moment.
But 2nd grade is too young to have a boyfriend
– She interjects emphatically – Mom! I do not have a boyfriend!
Do you have a crush on someone?
Well, not exactly someone. Something. *blushes and lowers head* I’ll show you. No. I’ll just tell you.
I am so confused now. What does it mean to have a crush on something??
Lowers her voice and confides It’s in a book.
Relief. Then it dawns on me. This girl has good taste. She has a thing for this brave, complicated, compassionate boy:
Is it Harry Potter?
Nods and smiles shyly.
That is normal too, honey. I can’t tell you how many book characters I’ve had crushes on! I can understand why you would have a crush on Harry.
I start to do a little geek happy dance inside my head! My daughter has her first literary crush – and I’m certain there are many daydreams of dashing protagonists in her future!
Isn’t reading amazing?
books are constant, unlike boys.. HP is one of mine, too. My fav books and such a ‘real’ character with flaws and all.
I love it! What a great character to have a crush on – awkward, yet smart, and definitely NOT a ‘bad boy’ – you done good mama! 😉
This made me remember how my sister and I had a crush on the fox in Disney’s Robin Hood!
This is so, so cute. You have to love the literary crush. And she picked a good one, too 😉
Oh so cute! I have to agree, Harry Potter is a great 1st crush.
Love it! My sweet girl is only 5 months, but we read to her every day. I hope she loves books and has a “literary crush” one day. I’d take HP any day 🙂
My crush was on Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables.
Awww…I had a crush on a boy in a book series I read as a kid, too:)
That is so adorable! Wait until she reads Wuthering Heights and develops a crush on Healthcliff.
So cute! I can’t wait to have this conversation with my daughter. But then again, I can. She is almost 3 and growing way too quickly!