Lynn: High-school junior Vivian Carter has always loved looking in the battered shoebox labeled “My Misspent Youth” on her mother’s shelf. These days, Vivian’s mom is a widowed, hard-working urgent care nurse. But back in the day, Viv’s mom was a punk rock-loving, feminist zine-creating Riot Grrl, and that box is full of mementos of that […]
Lindy West’s debut memoir, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, is getting a lot of attention for addressing topics like fat-phobia and tweeting about your abortion. In addition to being a deeply feminist memoir, it is also deeply and brilliantly funny as well. For book groups seeking titles that explore contemporary feminism, misogyny, women’s rights, body image, or online bullying, Shrill […]
Think you know the f-word and the v-word? These two titles might change your mind. Feminism has come a long way from the fight for suffrage, and in its current manifestation, it can be difficult for some to determine precisely what feminism stands for or, indeed, if it’s necessary at all. It seems like women have more […]
“Shop as Independently as You Think,” is the slogan for the Women & Children First book store in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. The book store is one of the largest feminist book stores in the country and is a major player in Chicago-area independent bookselling. Along with author readings, panel discussions, and book launch parties, Women […]
It’s a pressing question: with the many freedoms engendered by women’s lib, how should women lead their lives? As homemakers, professionals, or both? As virgins, sluts, or . . . ? In Rapture, Blister, Burn, now playing at the Goodman Theatre here in Chicago, there is little consensus. Directly discussing feminist theory (and showing an impressive display […]
Nigerian born author Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie has written a powerful, politically-charged novel in Americanah, and book groups should take note. Americanah is the story of a Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who moves to the United States to further her education and spends her years abroad analyzing and processing what it means to be a “Non-American Black.” […]
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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