When the Dog Dies in a Book

A friend sent me this, and it is so true!

Happy reading,
Christine

Lesson More Important than Testing

With the first week of state testing behind us, here is the real lesson I hope my students learn:

Happy reading,
Christine

Everything is Copy

I'm really enjoying the HBO documentary, Everything is Copy.  If you have read this blog before, you know that I am a huge fan of Nora Ephron's writing, so it was great to glimpse the person behind the prose.
Here are some of my previous posts on Ms. Ephron:

June 27, 2012

Tonight, from 6:30-9:30 you can join an online discussion of Mark Harris's ballpark novel, Bang the Drum Slowly.  The novel is about a pitcher for the New York Mommoths (supposed to be the Yankees) and his ill teammate.  The discussion takes place at the City Room blog.

The city and the world lost a literary luminary last night when Nora Ephron died of pneumonia brought on by leukemia.  One of my favorite filmmakers and writers, Ms. Ephron was a master of the romantic comedy. When Harry Met Sally is still one of my all-time favorites.  Her movie, You've Got Mail,  is more love-letter to the city of New York than love story.  I want to stroll around Manhattan every time I watch it.  I loved her last two books, I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, and I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections. 

To the feminists who criticized her for not writing strong enough women in her books and movies, I can only say that Ms. Ephron, herself, should have been a strong enough role model for you.  She was a White House intern at a time when that was something to be proud of, a journalist, and talented writer.  To Carl Bernstein, I can only say, "What were you thinking letting someone like that go?"

Happy reading,

Christine

June 28, 2012

Nora Ephron taught us the difference between high maintenance and low maintenance women, and gave us the classic line, "I'll have what she's having," but what she really did was articulate perfectly what so many of us were really thinking.  Her work resonates with female fans because many of her observations feel like someone verbalizing our inner thoughts much more eloquently than we could ever hope to verbalize them ourselves.  Watching her movies, reading her books, seeing her being interviewed felt like spending time with girlfriends.  She got women; she got the importance of female friendships; and she got what we were hoping for in a romantic relationship. 

Some of her most memorable lines are below:

        On Writing:

"I don't care who you are. When you sit down to write the first page of your screenplay, in your head you're also writing your Oscar acceptance speech."
                -I Remember Nothing

"If you were a college graduate (like me) who had worked on your college newspaper (like me) and you were a girl (like me), they hired you as a mail girl.  If you were a boy (unlike me) with exactly the same qualifications, they hired you as a reporter and sent you to a bureau somewhere in America.  This was unjust but it was 1962, so it was the way things were."                                                                                                                                               

  -I Remember Nothing

        On Relationships:

"Verbal ability is a highly overrated thing in a guy and it's our pathetic need for it that gets us into so much trouble."

       - Sleepless in Seattle

"You don't want to be in love.  You want to be in love in a movie."

              -Sleepless  in Seattle

"Well it was a million tiny little things that when you added them all up, they meant that we were supposed to be together...and I knew it.  I knew it the first time I touched her.  It was like coming home...only to no home I'd ever known...I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew.  It was like...magic."

                                       

  -Sleepless in Seattle

         On Aging:

"Oh how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six"

                                                                                                  -I Feel Bad About My Neck

         

        On Reading:

"When you read a book as a child it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."

                                                                                          -You've Got Mail

"Reading is one of the main things I do.  Reading is everything.  Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person.  Reading makes me smarter" 

                                                -I Feel Bad About My Neck

Check back in tomorrow to see my favorite of all Nora Ephron quotes!

Happy reading,

Christine

June 29, 2012

Well, as promised, here it is - my favorite of all Nora Ephron quotes.  Enjoy!

Happy reading,

Christine

Truly, Madly, Guilty

I am so happy that Liane Moriarty's new book, Truly, Madly, Guilty is coming out this summer.  It will be like Christmas in July!
Here are some of my previous posts on her books:

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

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

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

Books 40-21 Revealed

Today, Scholastic revealed books 40-21 on their "100 best Read-Aloud Books" feature.  Click here to check out the list and see if you agree with the selections that the other contributors and I made.

Happy reading,
Christine

My Book Picks on Scholastic Website

My friend and editor, Christina Vercelletto asked me to be a part of Scholastic's  "100 Best Read-Aloud Books."  Here are samples of books that I included.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Written by Doreen Rappaport | 3-5 ,  6-9 | Biography ,  United States ,  Multiculturalism

In this biography, the information is easily digestible—it's done in picture-book style. The author uses a unique narrative technique, using some of his most famous quotes, to tell the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I was lucky enough to meet Doreen Rappaport,” says Brower-Cohen. “This book would be beautiful on its own, but it is even more so because it was written by an author who truly believes in its message and even went to McComb, Mississippi, to teach at a Freedom School in 1965.”

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

Written by Lemony Snicket | Illustrated by Brett Helquist | 6-9 ,  10-12 | Fiction ,  Mystery , Gothic

The lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire will entice any fan of mystery as the children must solve the circumstances of their parents' deaths while evading their evil uncle. “The Bad Beginning, the first book in the series, implores readers NOT to read the book. The reverse psychology will draw reluctant readers in,” notes panel expert Christine Brower-Cohen

Click here to see the books the other contributors and I chose.  Do you agree with our choices?

Happy reading,
Christine

Melissa Parkington's Beautiful, Beautiful Hair

Yesterday, a respected colleague asked me what my favorite read-aloud for teaching character traits was.  I didn't even have to think about it.  By far, my favorite read-aloud for teaching character traits is Melissa Parkington's Beautiful, Beautiful Hair, by Pat Brisson.  In this picture book, the protagonist dislikes being known only as the girl with the beautiful hair.  As she struggles to find some other identity, the reader discovers that Melissa's true beauty lies on the inside, and that she is most beautiful when she donates her hair.  I even gave a copy of this book to one of my nieces after she donated her hair to Locks of Love.

Happy reading,
Christine