Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery

I am in love with my little second-graders. The moms are great, too, but the girls are simply edible. They are 100% honest and straight about what they think and how they feel, and what comes out of their mouths absolutely cracks me up!

I was a little surprised to hear that some of them were scared when they started reading Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery. Actually, even before reading--the cover of the book scared them! (My own girls are post-Harry Potter and I guess I've forgotten how sensitive the young ones can be.) And many did not like it right away; they were confused by the names and weren't sure what was happening.

However, they stuck it out, and ended up liking this little mystery told by Harold, the faithful and lovable dog. And the moms liked it and found it quite funny. One of the things I like about this little book is that the story has humor that appeals to both kids and adults. But what about my criteria? (You should know what I mean by that by now!)

The Story: The Monroe family has found an abandoned bunny at the movies, which they bring home to care for. Because the movie had been a vampire movie, the Monroe's name the bunny Bunnicula--a blending of Dracula and bunny. Chester, the family cat, who feels just a tad jealous of this newcomer, and who has been more than a tad influenced by all the gothic stories he's been reading, becomes convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire. Could this be true? Well, there are mysterious white veggies appearing suddenly in the Monroe's kitchen. Has Bunnicula been sucking out the juice with his little fangs? And after he finishes off the vegetables, will he turn to the Monroe's and suck their blood? Chester, with the help of the Monroe's faithful and down-to-earth dog Harold, is not about to let that happen. Hilarity ensues!

Questions: There are lots of questions that pop up from this story, and the beautiful thing is, there aren't answers for all the questions. At least not that everyone will agree on. Read the book and you'll see what I mean. Is Bunnicula a vampire? Is there a mystery at all to this story? Does Chester believe what he's telling Harold? Is he imagining it all?

Life Lessons: Two "take-aways" for me: 1) the next time your imagination goes a little wild and drags you along with it, stop and ask yourself--are things really the way I am seeing them? 2) As Harold tells us at the end of the story, "...happy endings are possible, even in situations as fraught with complications as this one was."

Bottom Line: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe is a great story for a Mother/ Daughter book group. Third grade night be better than second grade because the plot is a tiny bit complicated, and the story and humor are both somewhat sophisticated.

NarrativeMagazine.com

A member of one my book groups is involved in a new and rather fabulous on-line magazine called Narrative Magazine. Evidently it is one of the first of its kind (Salon.com coming to mind) and it has impressive writers involved. Check it out and let me know what you think. The address is:
www.narrativemagazine.com

Wrapping Up Doctor Zhivago

This epic novel is not for the faint of heart book club! In one of my groups, half the members were AWOL. (Am I that scary?) All in all, we decided that this is a wonderful, well-worth-reading, important book, but we can't be reading novels like this every month. More than one member thanked me for choosing it, and said she would never have read it without me. Awww...And absolutely everyone who finished it was glad that they had read it. Not in the sense of "Whew! glad that's done and dusted!"--but more in the sense of feeling satisfied at having read such a monumental work.

The conversations were glittering. (Hats off to a certain host who served Russian vodka and piroshkis to accompany our discussion, and whose house was filled with stunning white flowers to represent the ever-present Russian snow. Loved it!) An hour or two just let us scratch the surface, but the main take-aways were:

• This is a book of BIG IDEAS, and everything else--the plot, the characters, the relationships--are all secondary.
• This is NOT a love story. The movie with Julie Christie and Omar Sharif focuses on the love element, but the book is a sort of existential study of our earthly predicament.
• Some members saw Yury as a weak, selfish character, while others felt he was doing the best he could under the circumstances. My favorite comment was from a member who felt Yury was similar to Tiger Woods. Love it!!! I did, of course, immediately raise the level of discussion by asking if a better comparison might not be made with Hamlet.
• The book is "about" hope, whatever form that hope may take, be it art, passion, literature, or even forgiveness after confession.
• The imagery of light and dark in the book helps to carry that message of hope to the reader.
• A very astute and erudite member pointed out that Yury and Strelnikov were polar opposites in life as well as in death (think about how they each died!), and this contrast illustrated the different ways of living life. One was all passion and action, the other thought and caution.
  
• Destiny, like the omnipresent train, cannot be stopped. History cannot be stopped, nor made. One must just ride it out, so to speak.

All in all, a success for those who stuck it out! How about you? Have you ever spent a snowy winter all snuggled up with Yury and Lara?

WHIRL 1

W.H.I.R.L. Yes, that's right. WHIRL. It stands for "What Have I Read Lately"--and I aim to be "whirling" every so often. That is, I'll be sharing what I've read lately with you. And I would LOVE it if you would WHIRL back to me!!!

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. Loved it. Funny. Poignant.

Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz. Liked it but not my favorite from him.

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. Liked it A LOT. Very atmospheric. Learned some history--disturbing history, I must say. Malaysia in WWII.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. Stunningly beautiful. One of my favorite books.

Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. Short stories, some masterful, some good but weird. Worth reading, though--Munro always is.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Short stories by someone whose writing reminded me of Alice Munro. Loved it!

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer. Started out sort of gripping but then became kind of trashy. (If you're in the mood for trashy, you might like it.)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Loved it! A page-turner!

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga. Didn't love it. In fact, put it down half-way through and then returned it to the library unfinished.

The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz. Liked it a lot. Mahfouz is terribly readable, and I always feel as if I am IN Egypt while reading his books.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Didn't love it, but feel like I have to re-read it at some point to "get" it.

Sieze the Day by Saul Bellow. Liked it. Liked it better when I read it years ago. I don't know why.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Deeply thought-provoking book. A must-read.

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan. A bizarre and disturbing story from one of my favorite authors.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Liked it A LOT although the author's use of "he" for Cromwell became intensely annoying after a short time. This is one long book.

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali. Forced myself to finish it. This book needs an editor--with a large pair of scissors.

The Spare Room by Helen Garner. Very readable and moving. You have to be able to handle a book in which a character is dying from cancer, though.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Wonderful. What a craftswoman Lahiri is.

Blame by Michelle Huneven. Quite good. Very readable. Thought-provoking for a light to medium-dense read.

Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. Gripping. Disturbing. Wonderful.

Feel free to join in and link to your WHIRL on Mrs. Magoo Reads!

Book of the Month: Doctor Zhivago

February's Book of the Month is Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Part history, part philosophy, part love story, this epic novel will transport you to a different place, a different time, a different life. Rich with characters, each reacting uniquely to the historically cataclysmic situation in which they find themselves, Doctor Zhivago is sure to resonate on some, if not many, levels with you. Unlike Anna Karenina, which dazzles from the start, Doctor Zhivago will slowly grow on you and before long you will be caught in its grip, unable to put down this poetic and profound masterpiece. Enjoy!

New Year's Resolutions Redux

Wow, I had two New Year's resolutions: One, to drink more water. Two, to post more on my blog. Well, I am chagrined to admit that I am still as dry as a desert, and looking at my blog, that metaphor carries through. Dry. Empty of life. Well, of new postings, anyway. Yet, I always say "it's not too late," so here I am, water glass in hand, blogging away. And many of you have contacted me to point out that my website is a tad, um, barren too. Thanks--I am aware! Some of our technical staff have been on an extended vacation, but when they return we will get the entire site spiffed up! Until then, I am lifting my glass of H2O to you all--Cheers!

Wonderful Books!

My wonderful little lit-lovers have weighed in with their favorite books. Who better to recommend a great read for a fourth or fifth-grade girl than another fourth or fifth-grade girl? So girls, when you're at a loss for what to curl up with, take a look at the following list--I bet there's a book there for you. And if you'd like to add any titles, or make any comments, please feel free. Some of these titles are tried and true, perhaps even a little on the "easy" side, but they are on the list because they are, like a favorite stuffie or blankey, a "comfort read," something to return to when that is what is called for!

• The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
• The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene
• The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
• The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• The Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
• The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
• The Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry
• The Humphrey series by Betty G. Birney
• The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
• The Warriors series by Erin Hunter
• The Seekers series by Erin Hunter
  
• The Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
• The 39 Clues series by various authors (first book by Rick Riordan)
• The Penderwick series by Jeanne Birdsall
• The Doll People series by Ann M. Martin
• The Dear Dumb Diaries by Jim Benton
• The Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• The Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series by Meg Cabot
• The Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker
• The Fudge series by Judy Blume
• The Seems series by John Hulme
• The Half Magic series by Edward Eager
• The Sam series by Lois Lowry
• The Anastasia series by Lois Lowry
• The Pippi Longstocking series by Astrid Lindgren
• The Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat series by Lynne Jonell
  
• The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
  
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
• David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd
• Time at the Top by Edward Ormondroyd
• The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
• Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
• No Talking by Andrew Clements
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
• Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
  
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgsen Burnett
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Scat by Carl Hiassen
• Flush by Carl Hiassen
  
• The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbit
• Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
• How I Survived Being a Girl by Wendelin Van Draanen
• Maniac Magee by Jeffrey Spinelli
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
• A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise
• 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
• Savvy by Ingrid Law
• The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
• Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume
• Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

Some favorite authors are:

• Roahl Dahl
  
• William Steig
• Louis Sachar
• Lois Lowry
  
• Kate DiCamillo
• Rick Riordan
• J.K. Rowling
• Stephanie Meyer