Two-year-old Allison pretends that a banana is a phone. She is using the banana as a symbol, demonstrating that she can reconstruct actions and things in thought rather than relying on what is present. This demonstrates that Allison is capable of:

Pre-operational thought

Explanation:

As children, we are subject to treating objects as things they may not actually be. Pre-operational thought describes this phenomenon in that it is the process of relating images/actions to a completely unrelated object. Seeing that this is usually seen in more developed toddlers (5-7), Allison is quite ahead of the game (heh).

Anyways, I hope I helped. :)

Millicent's tense posture evaporated, replaced by a genuine smile.

Direct characterization is one of the ways in which an author tells the reader about a character. It occurs when the author reveals specific traits about a character in a direct manner through the use of descriptive adjectives or phrases. It is important to showing a character's motivation.