Reading is fundamental. Reading comprehension is critical.
He read “satiny brown skin” as “Satan-y brown skin”. All of a sudden Rue had red eyes and was evil. His rational: “She’s a little girl in the HUNGER GAMES. And the GameMakers gave her a HIGH score! EVIILLLL!!!”
I… I don’t even know y’all. He looked so shocked when I told him satin was a type of fabric. “Fabric?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “like silk.”
“So her skin is SHINY and BROWN?! WHAT?! That’s scary!”
Facepalm. Finally I realized that maybe he would get it if there were no adjective. “Okay, just forget it. What if it just said ‘brown skin’?”
“Oh. Well, maybe she’s black or something.”
I nodded and he rolled his eyes. “She’s black? Why didn’t they just say that!”
Sigh. Reason #45097 why there need to be more people of color in books: for this 11-year-old black boy, white is still the default. Terrible reading skills aside, it is easier for him to imagine a little demon girl than a little black girl.
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