Since the days when Olivia was shadowboxing with the wardrobe, she has always reserved her craziest behaviour for just before bed-time. This has been the case in recent days when her long-established routine has been sabotaged by some frankly lunatic behaviour. For months she has been quite content to sup her milk, listen to a story or two, (or three or four) and then hit the hay. No more. Perhaps she has simply exhausted her relatively slim library - though personally I think the Gruffalo can withstand an infinity of re-reads - perhaps she has rumbled our teacher-ish efforts to foist a natural love of literature on her. Either way, she is, quite literally running away from books.

Her current modus operandi is to jump from the knee of whoever is on milk-duty, under the pretence that she is choosing a book for herself, then, seeing that the coast is clear, sprint from the bedroom, throwing a 'chase-me then' glance as she flees through the door. On the landing she proceeds to spin in circles and laugh uproariously. This is of course, very charming and entertaining, but is unlikely to help turn her into the literary prodigy we were aiming to cultivate.

When she is frogmarched in shame back to the bedroom, she troops towards the bookcase, before doing a u-turn and the whole thing starts again. Rock the Holly Golightly look as much as you want child, but you won't escape The Book!