Ah, speech! One of the wonderful features that sets us apart from the rest of creation! Without speech, where would be the puns and poetry, the stirring oratory, and the mundane daily communication that helps us understand each other so well?
Or not. For without speech, where would be the MIScommunication, rich in humour and drama?
Take the humble blender, for example. Did Tommy’s after school care program coordinator really say she was going to put the children’s PICTURES in a blender? No, she said their names.
However, the key word here is not “pictures” or “names,” but “put.” Dictionary.com gives us a generous 24 meanings for this little word, not one of which is “blend.”
And the coordinator did indeed put little bits of paper with the children’s names on them in a blender container. I mixed up the little bits by hand and had a child draw out the name of a delighted kindergartner.
This little girl had just turned six, and joyfully claimed Scissortown as her gift. There’s a birthday party planned . . . let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out like Tommy’s in the story!
Margaret Welwood on Writing Children's Books 