Monica Edinger's Blog, page 39

Kate Saunder’s Five Children on the Western Front

I learned about this title when it wasshortlisted for the UK Costa Award and immediately ordered it from the UK. I’ve now read it and here iswhat I wrote ongoodreads:

I’m a fan of Nesbit’s original FIVE CHILDREN AND IT, but I’m not sure it is necessary to be familiar with it to enjoy this intriguing and elegantly crafted sequel.

Nine years after their last meeting with the Psammead (a grumpy sandfairy), he suddenly shows up in his old gravelpit. Cyril, Robert, Anthea, and Jane are now young adu...

Families in Books

The Guardian has a lovely serieson families in literature. My favorites:

I was a 26-year-old living by myself when I first read The Mouse and His Child. I spent my evenings reading on an old, yellow sofa my mother gave me when I left home. It was uncomfortable and covered in stains, but it was a fixture in family pictures of the house I grew up in – a grainy bit of furniture in the background, sat next to a bookshelf and a little wooden seesaw. It reminded me of living with my sisters, of the...

X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon

Fictionalized history is a tricky business. On the one hand, the past is a wealth of fascinatingmaterial for use in creating imaginary worlds. On the other hand, those doing that creating can’t go wild, they must honor the historical truth the best they can, especially when they are writing about real people from not so long ago. And so we come to X: A Novel, agritty and glorious rendering of Malcolm X’s youthby his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon.

Friends tell me trouble’s coming....

Jean Merrill and Ronni Solbert’s The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars

I’ve served notice here and elsewhere over the years ofmy devotion to Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War and am now beyond delighted that the wonderful new York Review Children’s Collection has brought it back in print. Along the way I came across another of her books, The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars and, guess what — they’ve brought it back in print too! I adore this book and recommended it wholeheartedly.So much so that I was invited to provided thisquote to thepublisher. Too cool t...

Ayn Rand Reviews the Charlotte’s Web Movie Among Others

“Charlotte’s Web”

A farmer allows sentimental drawings by a bug to prevail over economic necessity and refuses to value his prize pig, Wilbur, by processing and selling him on the open market. Presumably, the pig still dies eventually, only without profiting his owners. The farmer’s daughter, Fern, learns nothing except how to become an unsuccessful farmer. There is a rat in this movie. I quite liked the rat. He knew how to extract value from his environment. —Two stars.

At the New Yorker, of c...

A New Short Story from Philip Pullman and Some News about The Book of Dust

I was very excited to read abouta new short story by Philip Pullman, featuring the nefarious and fabulousMrs. Colter, that is being releasedtoday in the UK as an Audible.uk exclusive. Unfortunately and frustratingly “The Collectors” isnot available in the US andAudible, when I asked, had no information as to when it would be. So fornow we Americans have to make do with the below tantalizing excerpt read byBill Nighy.

But wait, Pullman fans,there’s more; thisin the Guardian articleabout The Boo...

Neil Gaiman Does Jabberwocky

In the Classroom: This Blog’s on a Top Ten List!

Thank you, Teachability Lounge‘s Mary Graham, for including this blog among your “Top Ten Teacher Blogs.” With all the blogs now out there, I sometimes wonder how many teachers read this one. After all, I’m pretty eclectic. So,I was thrilled with this affirmation.

Corporate Storytelling

Andrew Linderman tries to teach people how to find that balance. A story coach, he works with companies including American Express, PBS and Random House, charging $1,800 to $3,500 for workshops and $500 to $5,000 for one-on-one training (less for nonprofits and start-ups). For $40, you can also take one of his two-hour classes,Storytelling for Entrepreneurs.

“The specifics of storytelling are relatively easy to articulate,” he said. “It’s the nuances that make a story distinct.”

Ah, Random Hous...

Ten (or so) Great 2014 Kid Books for Gift-giving

I have read and loved a ton of books this year; amongmy many favorites are the following suggestions for great gifts this holiday season.

1, For a book that will be fun for a wide range of middle-grade readers and is also a great book to read aloud as a family, check outJennifer L. Holm’s The Fourteenth Goldfish.This deceptively spare book (comes in at just under 200 pages) packs quite a punch. It offers a clever take on a trope that is not unfamiliar in children’s books — that of an older per...