Zoe Bedelia?
When I was little I enjoyed the Amelia Bedelia books, in which the main character always takes things literally. (In one book, for example, she’s told to “dress” the turkey for Thanksgiving, so she puts a little outfit on the bird.) Zoe reminded me of Amelia – and the fact that little kids often take things literally – twice this past week. “Let’s go around the room and say what the best part of our day was,” I suggested at dinner one night, only to have Zoe jump up and start walking around the table. I explained with a laugh that “going around the room” was just an expression – and what I meant was that the three of us should take turns talking – but it was lost on Zoe, who by then was having too much fun going in circles and talking about her day. And a few nights later, when I asked Zoe to “flip on” the light in her sister’s room, she looked at me like I was crazy. “I can’t flip the light!” she said with a laugh, likely thinking of the flips she does in gymnastics. It made a lot more sense to her once I asked her to turn on the light instead.
-M