"Something very strange was happening to Treehorn."
The strange thing that is happening to the young protagonist of this story initially makes its presence to know him when he suddenly finds that he cannot reach the shelf where he stores his secret stash of gum and chocolate. He certainly had no trouble reaching it the last time he tried. The natural process of growing up involving such an effort almost always become easier, not more difficult. That the opposite is true makes this thing happening to Treehorn not merely strange, but downright unnatural. As is the fact that his clothing is become roomier rather than growing tighter against this body. The weird occurrence which has befallen young Treehorn is not the usual sort impacting kids in such stories. He is not transported to a faraway place, nor does he suddenly find himself in conflict with strange creatures. As scary as those situations might potentially be, they also promise adventure. There seems to be little upside to downsizing. Notably, however, Treehorn does not seem particularly upset about this sudden alteration in the natural course of things.
“Well, I’ll let it go for today. But see that it’s taken care of before tomorrow. We don’t shrink in this class.”
Upon learning from Treehorn himself—despite having seen for it for herself—that he is getting smaller, the incredible shrinking kid receives a mandate from his teacher implying that he is responsible. Her response is not unlike that which his father expresses earlier when muses to Treehorn’s mother about the possibility that Treehorn is shrinking as a way to get attention. A short while later, the teacher discovers Treehorn in the hall bouncing up and down trying desperately to reach the water fountain he had no trouble reaching the day before. He is officially—and quite unnecessarily, considering the circumstances—notified that shrinking is not a condition which earns him any special privileges. The adults surrounding Treehorn which includes his parents at home and the faculty at school cannot seem to stop themselves from immediately leaping to a completely uninformed conclusion about Treehorn’s growing smaller. Having leapt to a conclusion that he is responsible, they then immediately begin casting aspersions about his motivations for purposely choosing to shrink. The more obvious response would seem to be alarm at the results and an immediate effort to find an actual explanation. This reaction relates very strongly to a common interpretation of the story as a commentary on passive aggressive adult reaction to non-normative developmental progress in the aging process of their own children.
"THE BIG GAME
FOR KIDS TO GROWN ON
IT’S TREMENDOUS! IT’S DIFFERENT!
IT’S FUN! IT’S EASY! IT’S COLOSSAL!
PLAY IT WITH FRIENDS!
PLAY IT ALONE!
Complete with Spiner, Board, Pieces,
and—!
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS!"
A few days after his shrinking started, Treehorn wakes up so small that it requires jumping to get from his bed to floor. Sitting there under the bed was a board game he’d completely forgotten about. It was one of the many prizes he’d received by sending in for offers on cereal box tops. He had been playing the game just a few days ago when his mom called him down to breakfast and in all the subsequent excitement over discovering he was growing smaller, the game had just left his mind. Being a compulsive type who always like to finish things even they are boring, he tried to remember exactly where he’d been in the game when he left off and recalls that he had had to move his piece backwards on the board seven spaces just before hearing his mom call up from the kitchen. As he begins to play, the significance of this timing becomes apparent. With each movement forward—instead of backward—on the game board, Treehorn starts to grow until pretty soon he right back to where he had been before he started playing the game. The name of the game is far more important than the hyperbolic assertions which follow. It is a literal embodiment of theoretical concept that gameplay can be an essential tool both marking the developmental milestones of childhood as well as stimulating that development.
