Meanwhile, back in Fillory. . . I love starting with Eliot because he’s really coming into his own as High King. I predict great things from Hale Appleman in season two! Currently, my status is: not disappointed. Apparently, magic is being sucked out of Fillory, with Fillorian crops as collateral damage. The peasants are used […]
Oh, hey fellow Brakebills students. . . Where did we leave off? Eliot and Margo are now the High King and High Queen of Fillory. Alice and Quentin are King and Queen as well. (Four rulers seems like a mess to me, but, you know, it’s drawing off the Narnia mythology here.) Oh, and Eliot […]
My first job in Chicago—my first job as a college graduate, for that matter—was as a Christmas elf for Marshall Field’s in its final year of existence. My best friend and I drove here from Baltimore in a little Penske truck so that she could pursue her improv dreams at Second City. I tagged along as […]
Praise Tehlu! Earlier this week, creative powerhouses Lin-Manuel Miranda and Patrick Rothfuss announced that they are teaming up to adapt Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy (The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, and the forthcoming The Doors of Stone) into film and television. (And “other media.” Is it too much to hope for […]
Well, I’ve done it. I entered the Riggs-Burton time loop and emerged intact and, on the whole, pleased. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re clearly not among the Peculiar initiate. Yet. I’m referring, of course, to Tim Burton’s new film adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for […]
The Middlesteins (2012), Jami Attenberg’s beloved, bestselling novel of familial dysfunction and food addiction will, with any luck, soon become a half-hour television series on Showtime. According to The Hollywood Reporter, erstwhile CBS executive Nina Tassler, writer / producer Liz Tigelaar (Casual, Nashville, Revenge), and Girls writer Jason Kim helm the project, currently in development. If it goes forward, the show will […]
From the opening scenes, this season finale was lit. And it belonged to Cercei, who starts the action by blowing up the Sept of Baelor and offing the Church of the Seven (good riddance!), Maester Pycelle (meh) and the Tyrell siblings (nooooo Margaery!) all at once. Tommen, who survives only because Gregor Clegane makes him stay in his room, can’t bear the bloodshed […]
The strongest episode of the season focuses on just two storylines: the Masters’ attack on Meereen and the Stark’s reclamation of Winterfell. I’ve been hoping the writers would get back to this type of storytelling for the entire season, since it’s much more fulfilling than forced, quick dips into multiple characters’ lives. In contrast, this episode’s action focused on the heroes’ strengths, rose […]
Just when it seemed things were coming together, “Blood of My Blood” introduces new storylines and tugs at our heartstrings in new ways. The title of this week’s episode points to its powerful closing scene, which finds Daenerys atop a dragon telling her vast army of bloodriders that she is at last ready to march her armies onto “wooden horses” […]
Lots of jaw-dropping this week: the ladies take control, the Whitewalkers rear their ugly, ice-blue-eyed heads, and secrets from the past are revealed, mainly, “Hold the door!” Finally, in the sixth season of Game of Thrones, “The Door,” Hodor’s namesake and destiny are revealed: to hold the door closed and keep the Whitewalkers away from […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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