There is a Monster at the End of This Book!

This is such a cute story and a childhood favourite of one of my co-workers who kindly shared the story with me.  Not every child will have the luxury of having Grover read it aloud, but I bet you can do a pretty good imitation now, can't you?

Oilers Team Member Shares the Love of Reading

Defenceman Ryan Whitney read to the Grade 1 students at

Lauderdale School yesterday to launch the Edmonton Oilers

Community Foundation's "Share A Book" program. 

Book Lovers Ball Fashion Show

If you missed Book Lover's Ball 2012, you can watch it here.

Check out the 3:04 mark for the Red Means Run inspired designs!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - book review

To Kill a Mockingbird
Author:  Harper Lee
Published: originally published 1960 by J.B.Lippincott Company, this edition published 2002
Publisher:  this edition published by Perennial, a division of HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 323
Genre:  fiction/historical
ISBN 9780060935467
This edition is a "perennial classic"

www.harperperennial.com

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic. 

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature. (from GoodReads)

----

This is my second time reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and it was just as engaging and emotion wrought the second time around.  Since it has been a number of years between readings, I had forgotten some of the details and outcomes of certain situations and found myself genuinely aghast at a particular outcome and equally happy at another, feeling it was justified.

To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the point of view of young "Scout", Jean Louise Finch, a tomboy of a girl more comfortable in overalls and bare feet than a dress.  The setting is Alabama and segregation is everywhere.  The Finch household employs Calpurnia, a black lady who acts as maid and caregiver for the children but who is really as valuable a part of the family as those born into it.  Atticus Finch is a lawyer assigned the case of a young black man accused of raping a white woman.  

When his daughter asks Atticus Finch if he was defending a Negro and why, this is Atticus' response:


After confirming that he was defending a man named Tom Robinson, Atticus said, "Scout, you aren't old enough to understand some things yet, but there's been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man.  It's a peculiar case--it won't come to trial until summer session...."


When Scout asks Atticus why he is defending Tom he said, "For a number of reasons.....The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this country in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again."


Why?


"Because I could never ask you to mind me again.  Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally.  This one's mine, I guess. "

This is but one example the author uses to show the nature of Atticus.  He is honourable and upstanding and compassionate and it takes the entire book for young Scout to realize these traits in her father and to see the society she is growing up in as less than ideal.  She is a fighter, but as she matures as much as a child of seven odd years can, she learns to use her head more than her fists and she learns about honour, family and equality for all.  (Scout was six as the story began. The story takes place over three years.)

As the case develops,  it is soon known that things are not as they seem but some people turn a blind eye just the same.  At this time in history it is almost unheard of for a black person to see real justice, though Atticus does all in his power to make the truth be known and to defend not only legally but physically and verbally, his client.  

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said. [when Scout asked why he was trying to win the case while it appeared that it wouldn't be possible]

It is sad to consider that this book was once banned from schools and libraries.  Perhaps the individuals who wanted it banned did not read it for To Kill a Mockingbird was ahead of its time in promoting equal rights for all and the value of one soul is no greater than another.  To have the opportunity to read and to study To Kill a Mockingbird, is a privilege.  For a book that raises the question of racism and addresses the issues through the eyes of the innocent child, is certainly a book that I would encourage all people to read, particularly young people.  Atticus teaches his children the value of a human life.  I wish all would learn the same lesson.  This world would be a better place for it.


Rated 5/5


About the author:  [Nelle]"Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, where she attended Huntingdon College and studied law at the University of Alabama.' (back of book)  She is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and other literary awards.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - book review (YA/adult)

Catching Fire
Author:  Suzanne Collins
Published: 2009
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
ISBN 9780439023498
Pages: 391
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction
Source:  borrowed

Rating:  4/5

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Catching Fire is the fiery second book in the trilogy of The Hunger Games.   Split into three parts, beginning with a recap of The Hunger Games and the ensuing victory tour; the second part leads up to the Hunger Games "The Quell"; and the latter portion of the book is the Games themselves, Catching Fire takes off right where The Hunger Games left us.

Catching Fire is not so action packed, not until the last third of the novel, really, but it is not a boring trip to the games this time around either. To recap, in the first novel Katniss and Peeta, the two tributes from District 12, are the winners of The Hunger Games.  It is the first time two winners have made it to the end, and this only due to some manipulation of the Capitol and the Gamekeepers with threats made by Katniss, and secondly Peeta, of the death of them both.  It is allowed but a price must be paid for Katniss' defiance. In a mandatory television broadcast, an announcement is made....

"My mother gives a faint shriek and Prim buries her face in her hands, but I feel more like the people I see in the crowd on television.  Slightly baffled.  What does it mean?  Existing pool of victors?
Then I get it, what it means.  At least, for me, District 12 has only three existing victors to choose from.  Two male.  One female...
I am going back into the arena." (page 173)

Thus, The Quell is announced.  The living victors from previous years' Hunger Games are forced to relive their horrors in yet another life and death competition, and this means Katniss and Peeta must return to the arena.  We have already read half the book by the time this is announced!

In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta are a year older, a year wiser, and we see Katniss develop as an individual, as a woman and as a potential leader.  The author takes the time for some character development, which is noted in the growth we see in Katniss, though Peeta still remains a bit of a vague person.  We know of his love but we don't really get a good look into his psyche, to see what makes him tick, what his true strengths and beliefs are.  The plot is strong and well thought out, though not so action packed as the first, The Hunger Games.  More time is spent developing the story line, showing the tension of the people, the effort of the government to maintain control.  Plot building..... Catching Fire is more about the people than the games.

Leading up to the games, threats of rebellion against the controlling government of the Capitol are throughout the districts, consequently armed patrols invade the districts and there is no leeway on any rules.  Rather than quiet the rebels, though, a great and strong current of unrest continues to rise up.  The mocking jay is their symbol, it is Katniss' token, and the people look to Katniss as the face of the rebellion.  The people of the districts want Katniss to win the games again.  To be their victor, to be their champion of the people.  The games are on again.  Who will win this time?

“The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol’s plans. The symbol of the rebellion.”(page 386)

Suzanne Collins authors another powerful novel in Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series.  She manipulates the environment, the mood, the plot masterfully, weaving in subplots and new characters while maintaining the hold she has on the readers' attention.  It is hard to put down, though not so difficult as The Hunger Games was (probably because The Hunger Games was so action-packed).  Catching Fire ends with a lovely little cliffhanger, just to keep the reader excited and eager to read the next book in the series, Mockingjay.  Which I will pick up next.  

Stay tuned for the upcoming review!

PS  rumours have it that Catching Fire will be in theatres in 2013!

Reader warning:  suitable for junior high (middle school), high school and adults due to mature themes of violence

New Release: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Released today, February 14, 2012, and available in bookstores near you, is Sophie Kinsella's new stand-alone novel, I've Got Your Number.  See the trailer below:

Happy Valentine's Day Book Lovers!!

Today is Valentine's Day and I dropped heavy hints to my dearest that I'd love a little something special from my favourite second hand bookstore.  Well, it turns out he is a very good listener and indulged my whim....

I had already opened and shared some of the goodies inside, kisses and hearts, before I decided to take photos to share here.  They were yummy and look at this cute mug!  Never Without a Book is a little second hand bookstore near where I live that I like to frequent every so often.  I know, you are thinking, she works in a bookstore, isn't that enough?  Well, no, frankly.  When books are your addiction and you can wander amongst stacks and shelves of gently used books and visit with a cat or two while keeping company with the friendly owners, of course it becomes a part of your life.  I do love new books but I also enjoy the scent of gently used and previously loved books too.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! Did your love for books play a special role in your Valentine's Day?

Link Up With My Bookshelf

For my blogging friends, new and existing, I have now included Linky as a means to follow this blog.  If you are a WordPress blog, you know that as of March GFC (Google Friend Connect) sponsored by Google will no longer be available to blogs that are not Google Blogger.  Therefore, to make following me and this blog easier, I have included a Linky follower section on the right hand side panel.  You can sign up with Linky at www.linkytools.com to set up Linky for your blog.  Once you are in the system, you can follow any blogs of your choice that are Linky capable.

Best Selling Author Jeffrey Zaslow Dead at 53

Author Jeffrey Zaslow was a columnist with the Wall Street Journal and author and co-author of a few books, one of which I am currently reading, The Magic Room.  He passed away February 10, 2012 in a car accident wherein he reportedly lost control of his vehicle on a snowy highway in northern Michigan and collided with a truck.  Jeffrey Zaslow is survived by his wife, Sherry Margolis; three daughters, and his parents.  You may read the complete article from the Wall Street Journal here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203646004577215574045345682.html

We Bought a Zoo - books to movies

Directed by Cameron Crowe; starring Matt Damon (Benjamin Mee), Scarlet Johansson (Kelly Foster - the head zoo keeper), Thomas Church (Benjamin's brother), Colin Ford (Dylan), and Maggie Elizabeth Jones (Rosie).

We Bought A Zoo, which premiered in theatres December 2011, is based on the book of the same title written by Benjamin Mee.  We Bought a Zoo is based on the real life story of the Mees who, in the movie, desperately needed a change after Benjamin's wife Katherine, died of cancer, leaving him with a son and daughter to care for.  In the movie, son Dylan is 14 and the daughter, Rosie is 7. Each is coping in a different manner, but it is Dylan's frequent school suspensions and his disturbing art work that convinces father, Benjamin, to seek another place to give everyone a fresh start.  Thus, when real estate hunting, the home they find and Benjamin falls in love with is actually on zoo property.

Different obstacles become apparent, both human and animal, but Benjamin is not a quitter and we, the viewer, admire his tenacity.  His family needs this dream and he is determined to see it to fruition.  The funny thing is, as life goes, those things that seem like obstacles, often are the very things that help us heal.

There is a lovely scene that is so endearing, the scene of Rosie all tucked in bed, literally buried beneath all her stuffed toys and the father/daughter talk that follows about capturing Mommy's spirit and keeping her in your heart, all of which Dylan hears while standing outside the door, tears running down his cheeks, to match my own.  Yes, this is a bit of a tear jerker for the sentimental of heart.  You just have to love this little girl who, with her sweet innocent childlike affectation, announces at the hardware store, "We bought a zoo!"  Her enthusiasm is contagious!  

The entire film is a scenic treat, complete with rolling hills, a grizzly, tigers and wildlife in abundance.  Though the original story is in England, the movie version is in Southern California, United States, which I thought at first would be a deterrence for me, but the setting is perfectly chosen and conducive to Rosemoor Wildlife Park (Dartmoor Zoological Park)  Quoted from the Dartmoor Zoological Park site: "Set in 33 acres of beautiful woodland with stunning views of the surrounding countryside, Dartmoor Zoo is a unique, family owned zoo with a fantastic collection of animals including the widest variety of big cats in the south west of England.

Formerly known as Dartmoor Wildlife Park, the zoo was purchased by the Mee family and following major refurbishment work, reopened in July 2007 as Dartmoor Zoological Park. The story of those early days can be found here. It was also captured in the BBC documentary, Ben's Zoo and in Benjamin Mee's book, We Bought a Zoo which has been published in over 20 countries. In the Hollywood adaptation of We Bought A Zoo, Dartmoor Zoological Park becomes, "Rosemoor Wildlife Park" set in California."

Great quote from the movie:

Benjamin Mee: "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it."

Screen Rant reviewed this movie and included a viewer poll that of 735 voters, 53% gave it a five star review, 33% a four-star rating! I concur! We Bought a Zoo is a buyer for your DVD/blu-ray collection.  (Releases April 3, 2012 in the USA)

*note: In the memoir, Katherine dies a few months before the zoo opening, after her brain cancer returns.  By this time, the family have already been making strides to reopen the wildlife sanctuary in the English countryside.  

The memoir, We Bought a Zoo, was published by Doubleday Canada (trade paperback ISBN 978-0385666213).  We Bought a Zoo is available in bookstores near you, at Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, Indigo.ca (in both trade paperback and hardcover ISBN  978-0385666213).  Also available as an audio book and an ebook.