Our Favourite Children's Books

Patti
• The Secret in the Box by W. G. van de Hulst

Denise
• Leo the Magnificat by Ann M. Martin
• Rugby and Rosie by Nan Parson Rossiter
• High-Wire Henry by Mary Calhoun

Rachel
• Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Lois
• Apple Pigs by Ruth Orbach
• Edward the Emu and Edwina the Emu by Sheena Knowles
• The Mitten by Jan Brett
• Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
• The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders by Jack Prelutsky

Sue
• When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne
• A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer

Tanya
• The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
• Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Elsa
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Just in Time for Christmas by Louise Borden
• Follow Me, The Leader by Dorothea Warren Fox

Julia
• The Baby Sister by Tomie dePaola

Sherri
• Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman

Tara
• All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Hannah
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
• The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg
• Random House Book of Poetry for Children selected by Jack Prelutsky

Hi guys!

I hope you're enjoying The Historian. I'm thrilled that I enjoyed it even more the second time around; and I'm really looking forward to discussing it next month. I also happened upon an episode of Cities of the Underground on History that's about Dracula's history. I thought we could watch it at the beginning of the meeting...it includes a trip to Snagov, so we can see what it looks like!

Here are some discussion questions...not sure how much discussion they'll lead to - they're pretty general! But these are the only questions specifically about this book that I could find anywhere!

1. In the "Note to the Reader," the narrator tells us, "There is a final resource to which I have resorted when necessary - the imagination." How does she use this resource in telling her story? Is it a resource to which the other historians in the book resort, as well?

2. The theme of mentors and disciples is an important one in the book. Who are the story's mentors, and in what sense is each a mentor? Who are the book's disciples?

3. Near the end of Chapter 4, Rossi says, "Human history's full of evil deeds, and maybe we ought to think of them with tears, not fascination." Does he follow his own advice? How does his attitude toward history evolve in the course of his own story?

4. In Chapter 5, Paul's friend Massimo asserts that in history, there are no small questions. What does he mean by this and how does this idea inform the book? Do you agree with his statement?

5. Helen and Paul come from very different worlds, although they share a passion for history. How have their upbringings differed? What factors have shaped each?

6. Throughout the book, anyone who finds an antique book with a dragon in the middle is exposed to some kind of danger. What does this danger consist of? Is it an external power, or do the characters bring it upon themselves?

7. Each of the characters is aware of some of the history being made in his or her own times. What are some of these real historical events, and why are they important to the story?

8. At the beginning of Chapter 1, Paul's daughter notes, "I had been raised in a world so sheltered that it makes my adult life in academia look positively adventurous." How does she change as a person in the course of her quest?

9. Helen's history is deeply intertwined with that of Dracula. In what ways are the two characters connectedc? Does she triumph over his legacy, or not?

10. In Chapter 73, Dracula states his credo: "History has taught us that the nature of man is evil, sublimely so." Do the characters and events of the novel prove or disprove this belief?

2011 Schedule

Just because the blog is resurrected and I'm here anyway, I might as well publish the schedule that I had sent out via email. If you can foresee problems with the date that has been assigned to you, please make sure that you switch early enough that it works out for everyone (enough time to pick a book, etc.). Don't forget to be ready to do the Big Reveal during the meeting before the one that you're hosting & leading!

January 21 – Rachel
February 18 – Sue
March 18 – Tanya
April 15 – Julia
May 13 – Tara
June 17 – Lois
July 15 – Patti
August 19 – Elsa
September 16 – Denise
October 21 – Sherri
November 18 – Sarah

Christmas Meeting - Next Monday!

It's been a while, but I am finally responding to the call to resurrect the blog! I just wanted to make sure everyone knows where Patti lives: 412 Sydenham Rd., Dundas, ON L9H 5E2 ... if you're not familiar with the area, just plug that into Google Maps or your GPS, and you should be good! Her phone number is 289-238-8242 in case you get lost :)

This year's assignment is to bring a favourite children's book - either one from your own childhood or one that you've discovered more recently. When's the last time someone read a children's book (or ten) to you while you were enjoying a glass of wine AND not being climbed on? Exactly ... and that's why I'm really looking forward to the experience!

I think that's it for information on our Christmas meeting ... I hope you can all make it!

BEATRICE AND VIRGIL by Yann Martel

Hope to see you Friday night, August 20th at my place (above the funeral home). Let me know if you need directions. dludwig@cogeco.ca or 905-689-6140. Here are some questions to consider:

1.What is Beatice and Virgil about?
2. Why do you thing Martel named both of his characters Henry?
3. Discuss the characters of Beatrice and Virgil. Why might Martel have chosen them to be a donkey and a howler monkely, and why might he have chosen to name them after Dante's guides through heaven and purgatory?
4. What do you think of Henry's original idea for his book? Do you agree with him that the Holocaust needs to be remembered in different ways, beyond the confines of "historical realism"?
5. Close to the start of the book, Henry (the writer) says, "A book is a part of speech. At the heart of mine is an incredibly upsetting event that can survive only in dialogue." (pg 12) What does this mean? How does his comment inform the book we are reading?
6. Describe the role of Flaubert's story," The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator" plays in the novel.
7. How do you explain Henry's wife's reaction to the taxidermist and his workshop?
8. How do you feel about the play "A 20th Century Shirt"? Could it be performed? What role does it play in the book?
9. WHat moral challenges does Beatrice and Virgil present the reader with? What does it leave you thinking about?
10. How is writing like or unlike taxidermy in this book?
11. What role do Erasmus and Mendelssohn play in the novel?
12. What is the significance of Nowolipki Street?
13. How is Henry changed by the events of the novel? How does this relate to Beatrice and Virgil having "no reason to change" (pg 151) over the course of their play?

Choose Your Own Adventure!

Hi guys!

Remember when we were talking about Choose Your Own Adventure books and wondering if they still existed? Well, there's a wiki site: http://editthis.info/choose_your_own_adventure/. Apparently people can post their own stories here. I haven't had time to check it out...just thought it was cool:)

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

I'm looking forward to hosting our next Book Club meeting on July 16. And hoping you'll love this book as much as I did. Sort of perfect for North Country camping. If you manage to sneak some of that in before then...

Here are some discussion questions (I'm hoping they've downloaded okay. That you're able to read any of this at all is, I would think, a Very Positive Sign.)

1. How were you affected by the novel’s prologue? What did you discover about Arthur and Jake in this scene? How did your perceptions of the brothers change throughout the book?

2. How would you answer the questions that conclude the prologue? What accounts for the differences between those who follow the rules, like Arthur, and those who defy them? Which came more easily for you as an adolescent: obedience or defiance?

3. How were Jake and Arthur affected by their family dynamic? Did their mother pamper Jake too much? Did their father favor Arthur because he was easier to manage, or was Jake difficult to manage because of his father’s favoritism?

4. What was the effect of the novel’s timeline? How did it compare to your own experience of the continuum between present moments and memory? What parallels run between Ian’s life and Arthur’s?

5. Discuss the use of the headlines that open each chapter. What do they say about the local and global concerns of humanity? In what way were the headlines timeless, and in what way did they convey the unique attributes of this locale? What headlines would be most significant in marking the chapters of your life?

6. What is the significance of the two time periods in the lives of the characters? How were the Dunn brothers shaped by a youth of economic hardship and the presence of POWs? How was Ian shaped by an era of greater liberation, with television for entertainment and “risqué” music on the radio? What dreams for the future did each of these generations possess?

7. Discuss the nature of love and marriage as described in the novel. What made Jake so irresistible to Laura? What made Dr. Christopherson’s wife choose another man? Was Laura’s appeal strictly physical when she first moved to town? What is the riskiest romantic decision you have made?

8. How are the characters shaped by the novel’s setting? What do the natural surroundings of the town mean to them? What separates those who want to escape from those who bask in the town’s familiarity?

9. Why is Ian so transformed by the “day of the dragonflies” that concludes chapter nine? What did these memories mean to him?

10. Discuss the novel’s title. What does it mean for the characters to reach the other side of the bridge? Could Jake and Arthur ever be free of the wounds they inflicted on each other?

11. Who ultimately was responsible for Jake’s fall from the bridge? Who ultimately paid the price (literally, in terms of his medical bills, and figuratively as well)?

12. How did you react to the knowledge that Ian followed in his father’s footsteps after all? Did he make the right decision?

13. Laura confides in Arthur soon after meeting him, telling him she doesn’t believe that God cares about humanity (Chapter Ten). How would you have responded to her?

14. Discuss the cycles of tragedy conveyed in the Dunn family history, from the death of Arthur’s father to the closing scenes of Carter. How do characters cope with the concepts of fate versus intent? How do they cope with regret?

15. What common threads link the families in this novel to those in Crow Lake? What makes rural landscapes so appropriate for both of these storylines? Do you think people who grow up in cities feel the same passion for them as the characters in these two novels feel for the land?

16. If Matt Morrison, the brilliant and adored older brother in Crow Lake, had wandered into this book, which character do you think he would have had more in common with, Ian or Pete?

Books : That Old Ace in the Hole : Reading Group Guide

Books : That Old Ace in the Hole : Reading Group Guide

Here are some questions to think about while or after reading.

I hope to host Book Club here in Etobicoke. I hope that's ok. It's a bit of a drive for you guys.

We're at
28 Rossburn Dr.
Etobicoke ON
M9C 2P6


View Larger Map


Let me know if you need more help with directions.
See you on the 18th around 8.

Our next book, from the critically acclaimed author Annie Proulx, is That Old Ace in the Hole.
Did you know that Annie wrote Brokeback Mountain too? You can find it in her collection of short stories entitled, Close Range: Wyoming Stories. I think that might be a little too close range for me, if you know what I mean, but check it out if you're interested.
And please enjoy this book too.
I'll have more details on the location of the meeting closer to the date.

The Namesake

Here it is! Our pick for May is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri! Pour a cup of Chai and enjoy!

Discussion Questions for The Book Thief

Just a quick reminder that we have book club this Friday April 16 at my house. 

1. Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel. What are Death’s feelings for each victim? Describe Death’s attempt to resist Liesel. Death states, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” (p. 491) What is ugly and beautiful about Liesel, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, Rudy Steiner, and Mrs. Hermann? Why is Death haunted by humans?



2. What is ironic about Liesel’s obsession with stealing books? Discuss other uses of irony in the novel.



3. The Grave Digger’s Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. Why did she take the book? What is significant about the titles of the books she steals? Discuss why she hides The Grave Digger’s Handbook under her mattress. Describe Hans Hubermann’s reaction when he discovers the book. What does the act of book thievery teach Liesel about life and death? Explain Rudy’s reaction when he discovers that Liesel is a book thief. How does stealing books from the mayor’s house lead to a friendship with the mayor’s wife? Explain how Liesel’s own attempt to write a book saves her life.



4. Liesel believes that Hans Hubermann’s eyes show kindness, and from the beginning she feels closer to him than to Rosa Hubermann. How does Hans gain Liesel’s love and trust? Debate whether Liesel is a substitute for Hans’s children, who have strayed from the family. Why is it so difficult for Rosa to demonstrate the same warmth toward Liesel? Discuss how Liesel’s relationship with Rosa changes by the end of the novel.



5. Abandonment is a central theme in the novel. The reader knows that Liesel feels abandoned by her mother and by the death of her brother. How does she equate love with abandonment? At what point does she understand why she was abandoned by her mother? Who else abandons Liesel in the novel? Debate whether she was abandoned by circumstance or by the heart.



6. Guilt is another recurring theme in the novel. Hans Hubermann’s life was spared in France during World War I, and Erik Vandenburg’s life was taken. Explain why Hans feels guilty about Erik’s death. Guilt is a powerful emotion that may cause a person to become unhappy and despondent. Discuss how Hans channels his guilt into helping others. Explain Max Vandenburg’s thought, “Living was living. The price was guilt and shame.” (p. 208) Why does he feel guilt and shame?



7. Compare and contrast the lives of Liesel and Max Vandenburg. How does Max’s life give Liesel purpose? At what point do Liesel and Max become friends? Max gives Liesel a story called “The Standover Man” for her birthday. What is the signifi cance of this story?



8. Death says that Liesel was a girl “with a mountain to climb.” (p. 86) What is her mountain? Who are her climbing partners? What is her greatest obstacle? At what point does she reach the summit of her mountain? Describe her descent. What does she discover at the foot of her mountain?



9. Hans Junior, a Nazi soldier, calls his dad a coward because he doesn’t belong to the Nazi Party. He feels that you are either for Hitler or against him. How does it take courage to oppose Hitler? There isn’t one coward in the Hubermann household. Discuss how they demonstrate courage throughout the novel.



10. Describe Liesel’s friendship with Rudy. How does their friendship change and grow throughout the novel? Death says that Rudy doesn’t offer his friendship “for free.” (p. 51) What does Rudy want from Liesel? Discuss Death’s statement, “The only thing worse than a boy who hates you [is] a boy who loves you.” (p. 52) Why is it diffi cult for Liesel to love Rudy? Discuss why Liesel tells Mr. Steiner that she kissed Rudy’s dead body.



11. How does Zusak use the literary device of foreshadowing to pull the reader into the story?



12. Liesel Meminger lived to be an old woman. Death says that he would like to tell the book thief about beauty and brutality, but those are things that she had lived. How does her life represent beauty in the wake of brutality? Discuss how Zusak’s poetic writing style enhances the beauty of Liesel’s story.

Our next book:

Hi everyone,
My book pick for March 19, 2010 is, "REMEMBERING THE BONES"by FRANCES ITANI. I found my copy at the new Value Village in Waterdown. Hope you enjoy it! See you in March!
Tara

Discussion questions for An Unquiet Mind

I hope everyone has gotten a copy of An Unquiet Mind and maybe even read it already!  Here are some questions to ponder:

1. "The long and important years of childhood and early adolescence...were to be an extremely powerful amulet, a potent and positive countervailing force against future unhappiness"[p. 15]. What aspects of Jamison's early life and upbringing helped to provide her with emotional support on which to draw years later?



2. What benefits did the conservative military lifestyle led by the Jamisons confer upon the young Kay Jamison? With what disadvantages did that same culture, with its stiff-upper-lip creed, afflict her in her battle with mental illness?



3. In graduate school, Jamison writes, "Despite the fact that we were being taught how to make clinical diagnoses, I still did not make any connection in my own mind between the problems I had experienced and what was described as manic-depressive illness in the textbooks"[p. 58]. Why did she refuse to acknowledge the obvious? Why didn't she question the "rigid, irrelevant notions of self-reliance"[p. 101] she had been taught?



4. "Being open is the sort of thing that I advise people to think very long and hard about,"Jamison has stated. "It's one thing if you're independently wealthy. It's another thing if you're out in the real world"(Washington Post Magazine, 4/16/95). Why did Jamison avoid bringing her illness into the open for so many years, and what made her finally decide to do so?



5. Jamison worries that we could "risk making the world a blander, more homogenized place if we get rid of the genes for manic-depressive illness"[p. 194]. On the other hand, E. Fuller Torrey, a well-known author and schizophrenia researcher, says he "would quite happily lose a van Gogh to treat the disease"(Washington Post Magazine, 4/16/95). Which point of view do you endorse? Can you sympathize with both sides of the issue?



6. With her book Touched with Fire and her public television specials on artists like Byron, van Gogh and Schumann, Jamison has been accused by some of her colleagues of romanticizing manic-depressive illness by associating it with creative genius. Does this accusation seem reasonable or unreasonable to you?



7. "Lithium moderates the illness,"Jamison observes, "but therapy teaches you to live with it"(Time, 9/11/95). Has she convinced you that drugs plus psychotherapy is the answer for mental illness? In that case, might not psychotherapy benefit people suffering from any debilitating illness, not just a mental one?



8. Some physicians wonder whether the increased use of mood-regulating medications might lead to a society-wide practice of chemically altering personality, with the result of making people blander and more conformist (the widespread use of the anti-depressant Prozac has helped fuel this debate). "Which of my feelings are real?"Jamison asks. "Which of the me's is me"[p. 68]? Jamison's sister discouraged her from taking lithium, saying that her "soul would wither if [she] chose to dampen the intensity and pain of [her] experiences by using medication"[p. 99]. How much of personality do you believe to be intrinsic, and how much is a result of biological impulses and chemicals? Is such a question even answerable?



9. Her work, and her own illness, convinces Jamison of "the total beholdenness of brain to mind and mind to brain. My temperament, moods, and illness clearly, and deeply, affected the relationships I had with others and the fabric of my work. But my moods were themselves powerfully shaped by the same relationships and work"[p. 88]. Jamison expresses anger against physicians who draw a distinction between "medical illnesses"and psychiatric illnesses [p. 102]. Does she imply that there is, in actuality, no difference? If there is a difference, of what does it consist?



10. "Depression, somehow, is much more in line with society's notions of what women are all about....Manic states, on the other hand, seem to be more the provenance of men"[p.122]. What might the results of this stereotyping be when it comes to giving treatment?



11. After David's death, Jamison reflects that "grief, fortunately, is very different from depression"[p.150]. How can you explain the essential difference between the two? Is it more possible to cope with the "real"causes of grief than with the impalpable causes of depression?



12. Through bitter experience Jamison comes to recognize the value of emotional steadiness in a relationship, but "somewhere in my heart,"she writes, "I continued to believe that intense and lasting love was possible only in a climate of somewhat tumultuous passions"[p. 170]. Is this feeling peculiar to Jamison and her temperament, or does it reflect certain assumptions in our society? How is the importance of love and friendship demonstrated again and again in the story? How does each of the three principal men in Jamison's life help her to seek a cure?



13. Jamison worries that her work may now be seen by her colleagues "as somehow biased because of my illness,"while admitting that "of course, my work has been tremendously colored by my emotions and my experiences"[p. 203]. Does this make her work less viable than strictly "objective"work, or more so?



14. "My major goal has been to really try and make a difference in how the illness is seen and treated"(Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/18/95). Has she succeeded, so far as you are concerned? Which of your preconceptions were changed by reading her account?



15. "Do I really think that someone with mental illness should be allowed to treat patients?"[p. 204] Jamison asks. She ultimately answers the question in the affirmative. What would your own answer be?

February: An Unquiet Mind

Sarah picked our next book for February, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison. I believe the date for the next meeting is February 19th.  Enjoy!  Questions will come a bit closer to the date.

2010 Meeting Schedule

Here is the schedule, rearranged a bit in Feb-April. I have also added Tanya at the end (i.e. before Hannah, who has always been The Beginning of the List :)) Let me know if anything needs to be changed, and I'll send out an update!

• January 15: Sue
• February 19: Sarah
• March 19: Sherri
• April 16: Lois
• May 14: Julia
• June 18: Tara
• July 16: Elsa
• August 20: Denise
• September 17: Patti
• October 15: Tanya
  
• November 19: Hannah
  
• December 20 (Monday) - tentative date for our Christmas Girls' Night?
  

Discussion Questions for Novels

(from http:// www.litlovers.com/questions_f.htm)

These questions work well for any novel—use them for memoirs, biographies and histories as well.

1. Overall, how did you experience the book while reading it? Were you immediately drawn into the story or did it take a while? Did the book intrigue, amuse, disturb, alienate or irritate you?
2. Do you find the characters convincing? Are they believable? Compelling? Are they fully developed as complex, emotional human beings?
3. Which characters do you admire or dislike? What are their primary characteristics?
4. What motivates a given character's actions? Do you think these actions are justified or ethical?
5. Do any characters grow or change during the course of the novel? If so, in what way?
6. Who in this book would you most like to meet? What would you ask or say?
7. If you could insert yourself as a character in the book, what role would you play?
8. Is the plot well-developed? Is it believable? Do you feel manipulated along the way, or do events unfold naturally?
9. Is the story plot- or character-driven? In other words, does the plot unfold quickly or focus more on characters' inner lives?
10. Consider the ending. Did you expect it or were you surprised? Was it forced? Was it neatly wrapped up - too neatly? Or was it unresolved, ending on an ambiguous note?
11. If you could rewrite the ending, would you? In other words, was the ending satisfying?
12. Can you pick out a passage that strikes you as particularly profound or interesting - or perhaps something that sums up the central dilemma of the book?
13. Does the book remind you of someone - a friend, family member, co-worker, boss - or something - an event, problem - in your own life?
14. If you were to talk to the author, what would you want to know?
15. Have you read the author's other books? Can you discern a similarity - in theme, writing style, structure - between them, or are they completely different?
    

Guernsey ... Discussion Questions

Our next meeting is at my place this Friday ... 7:30-8 start time. Hope you can make it! Here are some discussion questions for you to think about before the meeting:

1. What was it like to read a novel composed entirely of letters? What do letters offer that no other form of writing (not even emails) can convey?
2. What makes Sidney and Sophie ideal friends for Juliet? What common ground do they share? Who has been a similar advocate in your life?
3. Dawsey first wrote to Juliet because books, on Charles Lamb or otherwise, were so difficult to obtain on Guernsey in the aftermath of the war. What differences did you note between bookselling in the novel and bookselling in your world? What makes book lovers unique, across all generations?
4. What were your first impressions of Dawsey? How was he different from the other men Juliet had known?
5. Discuss the poets, novelists, biographers and other writers who capture the hearts of the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What does a reader's taste in books say about his or her personality? Whose lives were changed the most by membership in the society?
6. Juliet occasionally receives mean-spirited correspondence from strangers, accusing both Elizabeth and Juliet of being immoral. What accounts for these judgmental letters?
7. In what ways were Juliet and Elizabeth kindred spirits? What did Elizabeth's spontaneous invention of the society, as well as her brave final act, say about her approach to life?
8. Numerous Guernsey residents give Juliet access to their private memories of the occupation. Which voices are most memorable for you? What was the effect of reading a variety of responses to a shared tragedy?
9. Kit and Juliet complete each other in many ways. What did they need from each other? What qualities make Juliet an unconventional, excellent mother?
10. How did Remy's presence enhance the lives of those on Guernsey? Through her survival, what recollections, hopes, and lessons also survived?
11. Juliet rejects marriage proposals from a man who is a stereotypical "great catch." How would you have handled Juliet's romantic entanglement? What truly makes someone a "great catch"?
12. What was the effect of reading a novel about an author's experiences with writing, editing and getting published? Did this enhance the book's realism, though Juliet's experience is a bit different from that of debut novelist Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece, children's book author Annie Barrows?
13. What historical facts about life in England during World War II were you especially surprised to discover? What traits, such as remarkable stamina, are captured in a detail such as potato peel pie? In what ways does fiction provide a means for more fully understanding a non-fiction truth?
14. Which of the members of the Society is your favourite? Whose literary opinions are most like your own?
15. Do you agree with Isola that "reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones"?

See also the generic fiction discussion questions (separate blog post) in case these aren't thought-provoking enough. I'm also looking forward to finding out which passages strike you as interesting, funny, well-written, or otherwise noteworthy!