Big Little Lies

This is a great "mom" mystery.  It's a great mystery, because it is so well written, that up until the end, you don't even know who is dead, let alone who the killer is.  It's a great "mom" book, because it opens with the homicide detectives arriving at a Parent Association event, and throughout the novel, you read  the viewpoints of various parents and school staffers as they explain events that led to the death.  Seemingly insignificant events, like cupcake wars between moms who think cupcakes at class birthday parties are a rite of childhood, and fit moms who think only nutritious foods should be served; dads arguing over standardized tests; kindergartners being excluded from playdates and birthday parties; moms competing to throw the best birthday parties; and Parent Association officers drunk with power.  Best of all, is the title, Big Little Lies, which begs the question, aren't all lies big lies?

Happy reading,
Christine

Sesame Street

I was saddened to read that new episodes of Sesame Street will air first on HBO, a paid cable network.  There are so many levels of genius behind Sesame Street, but perhaps the most significant is the gap it filled for underprivileged children.  Any educator knows that all children do not start kindergarten with the same foundation.  All children are not immersed in print-rich homes with books on the shelves and magazine and newspaper subscriptions.  All children don't see adults modeling the importance of reading by not only reading to the children, but by reading to themselves for their own enjoyment.  All children don't have the luxury of a two-parent home with one parent able to take them to the library and other enriching outings.  All children don't even hear English spoken in the home, let alone read aloud in the home.  For the single mother working two jobs to put food on the table for her children, the health and safety of her children may take precedence over their literacy development, no matter how important she may realize that literacy development is.  Literacy is the most important thing that any teacher in any school teaches.  It is the foundation for all the learning that is to follow.  The old adage that in the formative years you learn to read, and in all the years that follow you read to learn, still holds true.  If you cannot read, and you have no support network at home, how can you ever  compete?   For children in these circumstances, engaging educational programming on public television is a dire need.  For young children whose brains are developing at the most amazing rates of their entire lives, depriving them of anything to enhance that development is unfair.  It is also unfair to the rest of our society, as these children could grow to be our future leaders and thinkers.  Can we afford to thwart their potential by depriving them of a solid foundation?  Should only the children of those parents wealthy enough to afford cable t.v., have the benefit of  new episodes of Sesame Street?  In this time of income inequality, do we really need anything that furthers the gap between the haves and the have nots?

Happy reading,
Christine

The Husband's Secret

Just finished reading The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty, author of What Alice Forgot.  A friend of mine preferred What Alice Forgot, and even quipped that "We could all use a little amnesia in our lives."  I loved both books, though.  What I loved most, is the connecting theme between the two of them that "falling in love" is an adolescent concept.  New love is cheap and easy, but loving somebody after you've raised a family together, hurt each other, pleased each other, bored each other, surprised each other, shared secrets, bills, and a bathroom, that is real love.

Happy reading,
Christine

Go Set a Watchman

Years ago, I bought my husband a special edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird, which I inscribed, "To my own Atticus Finch."  If you, like I, have spent most of your life believing that Atticus Finch was the greatest father, lawyer and most honest and decent man ever written, do not read Go Set a Watchman.  There are some things you can't "un-know" once you know them, and you will never be able to look at Atticus Finch the same way again.
Maybe it was naive to believe that even a fictional character could live up to the ideals of Atticus Finch, and maybe this flawed version is still worthy of love, but I wish I never read this book.  I wish I didn't know what I now know.  I hate cliches, but this is one case where ignorance truly is bliss.

Happy reading,
Christine

What Alice Forgot

Ever ask yourself, "How did my life come to this?"  That is exactly what Alice must ask herself in What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty.  Alice is 29 years-old, madly in love with her husband, and expecting her first child, or so she thinks when she comes to after a head injury at the gym one Friday morning.  In reality, she is a 39 year-old mother of three going through a bitter divorce.  Her fall has caused her to forget the last decade of her life.  The book will cause you to question, is it the big, life-changing events that shape us, or the everyday little choices and actions that make us who we are?

Happy reading,
Christine

Delightful Dolphins

If you are lucky enough to see or swim with dolphins this summer, you may want to read this National Geographic article on dolphin communication.  Amazing!

Happy reading,
Christine

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th!

So far, my summer reading looks like this:

• Finished In the Unlikely Event, by Judy Blume;  - Love her!
• Read an easy, cheesy, beach read, and all I can say is, " Eh, if you read the first three books in this series, you can skip this latest installment."
• To redeem my intellect after the beach read above, I went with a classic, The Catcher in the Rye - Obviously a lot to think about.

Happy reading,

Christine