My two-and-a-half-year old may end up in publishing. It’s not just that she’s into books. Although she is. She loves to be read to, and I suspect she’ll be an early reader; she’s known her letters for a long time now. But it goes beyond that. She’s into books. She knows author’s names: Beatrix Potter, Eric Carle. She’s interested in page numbers. She just learned about endpapers — from me, I confess — and now examines them carefully every time we read a hardcover. She knows that only hardcover books have endpapers; softcovers do not. She likes to explain the difference between hard and softcover books. She runs around the house, holding one of each type, saying “knock knock!” (while knocking on the hardcover) and “flop flop!” (while flopping the paperback around).  She likes to “just look at the words” in whatever book I happen to be reading. Currently it’s the spectacular Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (“Hilary!” MJ shrieks. “That’s my babysitter’s name!”) She has even asked me to tell her the word for the little black marks Ms. Mantel has placed between sections in her chapters. These:

I have no f-ing clue, of course. Duh. Maybe I should call Henry Holt and ask them.

While I’m at it I can see if they’re looking for a young intern. I think I’m out of my depth.