A tree grows

How did I miss reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when I was in my teenage years.

My book club read it for our big summer read. Normally we go about 4 or 5 weeks in between books. But because people were going to be away for summer trips and none of us had work we chose to go for a longer gap as well as a longer book. We last read Angry Housewives Eating BonBons (a book about a book club - which we read for book club), and so we picked one of the books those women read as one of our books.

There are few books in my life that make me want to name children or pets after the characters - this book was one of them. I'm not crazy about naming a child Frances - but someday I will have a cat named Francie.

This was not a 'my life is now different because I read this book book' - It was a 'I could read this again after I finished the last page book' - the kind of book that makes you happy and sad, and as much as my friends tease me about being a fan of Oprah, I heard her say this once and it totally applies to this book.

"It's the kind of book that makes you think the characters are going on without you when you put the book down and go do something else"

Francie is the kind of girl who might just be the perfect character. She is witty and brave - sassy and loving. I adored every second of it. It reminded me a bit of Angela's Ashes. The idea of being so poor but still so alive and aware of the world.

I loved that she was always saying 'I wonder' - she was a lover of books and the page that describes her understanding words for the first time - and therefore was able to read - made me cry. It was so well put and really just what it feels like to read for the first time and really get it.

I love that I am here in Sydney while reading it. It always seems like there is time to read on vacation - that somehow doesn't really exist when I'm at home. I also love that it's cold here. It's nice to curl up with a cup of tea and a blanket and read.

Advanced 10

I have dislexia.

I was in classes that helped me with reading from 2nd to 5th grade. I tested out of RSP when I went to middle school but still struggled with reading. My 8th grade English teacher refused to let me go into advanced English or Spanish when I went on to high school.

Now I teach advanced English. This is insane to me. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE it. I've had advanced 11 for a few years now and l.o.v.e. it.

This year in my mail box I got the memo that I would be teaching Advanced 10. I was a little shocked and then progressively excited.

I found out what the books are and now I'm interested in adding two more supplemental books to the list. We have four books for supplemental reading and I would like to be able to let students choose four - these are the four that are already on the list

Joy Luck Club
Native Son
All Quiet on the Western Front
Things Fall Apart

Core Lit:
Of Mice and Men
Night
Julius Caesar
Animal Farm

If you were going to add two titles what would they be?

It's world lit - I was kinda hoping for a good piece with a latino/a background.

Thoughts?

Shut Up!

"No really Shut Up!" - me
"Mrs. Parsons it's true I really like this book" - D
"Shut your face, you are lying to me" - me
"I was talking to my mom about it - and even turned off the TV this weekend so I could read more. Know how I promised I would get to page 88 - well I did it!" - D

I almost started crying. This is the same D we have talked about before. Please be aware that I wasn't really telling him to shut up - I really don't like saying that - it was that I was so shocked I couldn't believe what he was telling me.

I have a list of books the kids can pick from for their supplemental reading. And looking at the list and knowing D's ability I picked something that wasn't on the list.

I suggested that he pick up Monster by Walter Dean Myers


It is a really amazing story about a young man in prison and his struggle with the court and his life.

I read it for my adolescent lit class in college and fell in love.

It's written like a screen play rather than a typical novel.

Knowing a bit about D's reading level I knew it would be good for him - okay let's be real I really hoped that it would be good for him. I just really wanted him to read something, anything.

And it turns out - he's reading. He's reading and he's talking about it with his mother. He liked it so much that he had taped himself reading it. He even said that he told his friends about it - and they are now planning on checking it out from the library after he is done reading it.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. Utter and true joy - but also disbelief.

An amazing tale.

I just got done reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It is a historical fiction piece about Dinah the only daughter of Jacob and Leah. It made me aware of so much history and culture that I really didn't know a whole lot about.

It was beautifully written. Diamant does an incredible job of building characters that have been known for so long and yet breaths new life into them. The amazing love that they have for each other really inspires me. I was so interested in the rights of passage that the describes. That Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpath love Dinah with such passion and delight. They take her into their arms and love her so uniquely compared to the way they love their sons. They treat her with such respect once she is able to wear the belt of womanhood.

Historical fiction is not normally my genre - I love post modern lit and YAL - But this struck a cord in me that I have not had with previous books. I picked it up because this was the choice for this months book club. I'm really looking forward to discussing it with my friend in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see what they have to say about it.

Have you read it? What did you think?

A Must Read

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. 552 Pages. Don't let it scare you. It's worth ever moment. Liesel is a character that I fell in love with instantaneously. She is rambunctious and kind - strong and fragile. I finished the book on Saturday and I find myself thinking about the different transitions she goes through and challenges she is faced with.

It's a book that is meant to be young adult fiction - that's where you'll find it if you head into any bookstore. The thing that I found so profoundly beautiful was that it made me less afraid of death. Death narrates and takes the reader with him as he follows the life of one little German girl during WWII. He is constantly around her and touches her life in so many ways but is there somehow to help her - to guide her - even when she doesn't know it.

A group of women that I work with are in a book club and this was the choice for this session. I know it's odd to say but I enjoy reading about the holocaust. It helps me to comprehend the bigness of that entire time period. I am teaching Night this semester and am trying to create a list of supplemental books that I can present to sophomores that will make them think. really think about the gravity of the fact that they are part of the last generation to be alive and meet someone who survived through such a dark time.

How do you get kids to care about something that happened 'so long ago' and seems so far away from their little suburban lives? When really there are still so many things that the world is still trying to get past in relation to all of this?