Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems or Scholastic Children's Dictionary.
Author's Note: The real Annabelle, who is six-and-a-half, recently got her first dictionary, and the sulfur conversation actually happened. It seemed like such a perfect follow-up to Vocabulary that I had to write it down. It's short and sort of random.
"Hey, Annabelle," Nate called as he walked in the door. "I have a surprise for you!"
Nate could hear her footsteps as she raced out of her room and down the stairs towards where he stood in the kitchen. He was fairly certain she was going to love her present and was excited to see her reaction. "What is it Daddy?" his six-year-old daughter asked.
He reached into a bag and pulled out a large book. "This, my dear, is a dictionary; it's a book that teaches you new words, sort of like Word Girl. I got it so when you find a word in a book that you don't understand, you can go look it up."
He handed the book over to Annabelle, who opened it to the middle. "Cool," she whispered. She slowly turned the page as she walked away from her father towards the family room couch. "Thanks Daddy!" she added. Then without looking up, "Did you get something for Melody too?"
At that moment, Nate silently thanked Jason for reminding him that if he took a book home for one girl, he needed to get one for the other. He reached into the bag, pulled out The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and held it up for Annabelle to see. She briefly glanced up at her father and nodded before looking back at the dictionary.
"Nice," she said. "Uncle Jason pick that one?"
Nate laughed. "How'd you know?"
"It's about a bird, Dad."
"I guess that is a pretty good hint. But the dictionary was all me," he said proudly. He headed over towards the couch and sat down. "What are you reading about?"
"Minerals," she answered. "Look," she said pointing to a picture of a yellow rock. "That's sulfur. Let's look that up next." Annabelle flipped through the pages until she found the word she was looking for. "A yellow chemical element used in gunpowder, matches and fertilizer. See minerals," Annabelle read. She paused and reread the sentence to herself before looking up at her father. "Gunpowder, matches and fertilizer? Why do they put sulfur in fertilizer? The other two things can explode, but you don't want fertilizer to explode or catch on fire?"
Nate tried hard not to laugh at his daughter. "I don't know honey. That's a good question."
"The dictionary told me to see minerals, so maybe if I go back there it will explain," Annabelle reasoned. She quickly flipped back to the mineral entry and read quietly to herself before exclaiming, "There's not enough information, Daddy. This is disappointing. I need to know more."
"You know what Annabelle, the dictionary only gives you a definition, a little bit of information. If you want to find out more, you have to go look in an encyclopedia."
Annabelle raised an eyebrow at her father. He sighed and stood up. "Okay, get your shoes on. We'll go back to the bookstore and see if they have an encyclopedia."
Annabelle grinned. "Thanks, Daddy. But don't feel bad; I really like the dictionary."
Nate smiled at his daughter and ruffled her hair. "I'm glad sweetheart."
