Saffron: You're a good man. Mal: You clearly haven't been talking to anyone else on this boat.

'Our Mrs. Reynolds'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


Hil R. - Sep 21, 2007 7:07:51 am PDT #3911 of 28212
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l

The Wolves in the Walls? That book that Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak did a few years ago, based on the opera, whose name I can't recall right now? I've seen a really nice illustrated version of Casey at the Bat.


Emily - Sep 21, 2007 7:09:04 am PDT #3912 of 28212
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola

Are there such things as foreign language books for elementary/middle school kids? That would get simple vocabulary but slightly more grown-up topics, maybe.


Hil R. - Sep 21, 2007 7:16:18 am PDT #3913 of 28212
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l

This list looks like it could be useful: [link]


Susan W. - Sep 21, 2007 7:20:21 am PDT #3914 of 28212
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights

I don't know if this would be appropriate or not, but what about DK Eyewitness Books? You know, books like this and this. They're designed for an upper elementary/middle school readership, but they have so many pictures that Annabel enjoys looking at them, and the pictures and text are detailed and informative enough that I've found them useful for research when I want to describe some piece of historical clothing or technology.


megan walker - Sep 21, 2007 7:24:49 am PDT #3915 of 28212
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

DK Eyewitness Books?

I gave my nephew some of those when he was fairly young and he loved them.


askye - Sep 21, 2007 7:59:00 am PDT #3916 of 28212
Thrive to spite them

Those are great ideas! I'll pass those on to Mom.

I wish I could remember the details of the system they are using for reading and math, but the idea is you base what you teach on the ability of the students. Like the boy I mentioned, who will probably never be able to read, but they've taught him a love for books anyway - just looking at the pictures and turing the pages. The example Mom had for math were two students that the teacher taught how to measure things and some basic addition, and it's been a struggle for them but they've worked at it because it's interesting and they're abilities have gone up a year level. Which is pretty astonishing.


Volans - Sep 21, 2007 8:50:00 am PDT #3917 of 28212
move out and draw fire

I was going to say the Eyewitness books, and also the "100 Things You Should Know" series.

I shriek about designers who come into people's rooms, look at the books cases and go

And what's with the new fad of putting the books on the shelves so that the pages, not the spines, are showing? God. It's like advertising that you can't or don't read.


Nutty - Sep 21, 2007 9:42:53 am PDT #3918 of 28212
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."

My suggestion would be narrative comic books. Much easier to figure out the story even if you can't read the words, and they're usually reasonably high-level.

signed,
read one of the Tintin books in French years and years before I discovered it was a story about the opium trade and the Japanese invasion of China. Even without the words, it was still very exciting!

Middlesex

I didn't care for that book, either, and I sold my (purchased used) copy to a used book store.


Emily - Sep 21, 2007 10:24:11 am PDT #3919 of 28212
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola

Middlesex

I was going to say something about this and then realized I was thinking Middlemarch. D'oh.


lisah - Sep 21, 2007 10:36:12 am PDT #3920 of 28212
Punishingly Intricate

askye, a local artist did an awesome picture book that I think would be fun for kids of all ages:

[link]

We both read it, neither of us wants to read it again, no reason for it to languish on our shelves when it could be out there making some other reader happy. I look at getting rid of books as giving a gift to that mysterious other reader, which makes it a lot easier.

This is how I feel as well.