Kevin

February 3, 2009

Dear Daniel,

It is at least partially your fault: My daughter (who is fourth grader and has just turned ten) has been going around asking everyone to get her a “blue, smiling, Italian, mango-eating moose.” The blue adjective and the choice of herbivore are obvious. The mango-eating part probably comes from the basic fact that Mangoes are Good. Not sure where the Italian qualifier comes from; none of us speak Italian and we don’t drive Italian cars, though we do eat a significant amount of pasta. One thing, however, is apparent: My choice of reading material for my family has permanently warped my child’s sensibilities. I thank you for it.

-Kevin

Irving and Muktuk, in Bad Bear Detectives, are accused of hijacking a shipment of Italian designer blueberry muffins--perhaps your daughter refers to that. Everything seems perfectly normal to me.