dys· phem· is· tic Huh?

Gwen, who just turned 10, has always loved mysteries -- The Hardy Boys, The Boxcar Children, and above all, Nancy Drew. Now that we've read through every last one of those I thought I'd try introducing her to the Master, Sherlock Holmes.

Every night before she goes to bed, I read her a half hour of Holmes. We just finished The Five Orange Pips and are now involved in The Man With The Twisted Lip. I am facinated by the quickness of her mind in following Holmes' logic, the almost worldly-wise way she can predict the actions of the characters, her stabs at guessing the solution. More than that, I love to hear her commentary on Conan Doyle's writing technique -- she being a writer herself.

Tonite she pointed out that, instead of having Watson say, "It was about 10:00 at night..." he wrote that it was "about the hour when a man gives his first yawn, and glances at the clock." Gwen has reams of stories written longhand in pencil, stashed safely away in a zipper binder, most involving YuGiOh and company. Her descriptive power is growing every day, and she writes evocative poetry as well when she's in the mood.

Watching this develop in her is one of the joys of my life. Gwen wants to be an elementary school teacher, but I hope she finds a place for her writing.