‘Gloob!’ says my daughter. This is what she calls the globe that sits on a shelf in our sitting room. It’s one of my favourite among her neologisms, and one we’re unlikely to grow sick of hearing. This is primarily because ‘gloob’ is one of the best syllables to hear pronounced by a ginger two-year-old, but also because time spent with her gloob means many precious minutes of self-directed play, allowing us a break from the more full-on supervision she so typically prefers.
Nana and Grandad bought the gloob for our son’s fifth birthday. It’s around 60cm in diameter, battery operated and comes with a stylus attached. It’s mounted on a base with a small LCD screen, which displays facts and figures about anything you point the stylus toward. It offers wildly detailed information on population, demography and national customs. Each creature mentioned is delineated by class and notes are given on its diet and herding patterns.
