Off the Cuff

[#1]

There's a popular gift that high school and college graduates receive in mass every year. It's the children's classic Oh, the Places You'll Go! by none other than Dr. Seuss. Graduates receiving a children's book? Well, why not. In preparing for where we're going, it's often a great time to see how we got where we are. And it all starts with reading!

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

What was once simply the birthday of Theodor Geisel (you know him as Dr. Seuss), March 2 has transformed into an annual event: Read Across America Day! Read Across America Day is the perfect day to encourage reading with your children or grandchildren. Last year on March 2, first Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined hundreds of local schoolchildren at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. to share their love of reading.

In cities and towns across the nation, teachers, teenagers, librarians, politicians, actors, athletes, parents, grandparents, and many others develop the National Education Association's Read Across America activities to bring reading excitement to children of all ages. In fact, it's quite common to see teachers and principals happily dye their hair green or be duct-taped to a wall if it boosts their students' reading. Why? Because reading is something to be encouraged and shared 365 days a year!

So why not let March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday, be the perfect day to pick out a Seuss classic story--or any story--and read to your small child. If they're going to go places, the best advantage you can give them begins with reading!

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

[#2]

Reading is great for all ages,  but there have been numerous studies recently that have proven the neurological and developmental advantages of reading to your children, even when they are infants.  Dr. Seuss is tried and true, but I really loved A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter.  I still remember these great words Beatrix Potter used like "soporific" (referring to the sleepy effect of the lettuces on Peter Rabbit and his siblings) and "hospitable" (with Jemima Puddleduck and the fox who secretly wanted to eat her eggs). These words were way over my head, but I could still get their basic gist from the context. Did anyone else out there read Beatrix Potter?

[#3]

I loved A.A. Milne, but I also loved poetry (still do).  My mother used to read to us from a big book of children's poetry -- maybe called A Child's Garden of Verses?  I don't remember.  I loved the rhythm and rhyme of it, and the stories.  My father used to recite poetry to us -- every Halloween he would turn down the lights and recite The Highwayman from memory.  That has an absolutely hypnotic refrain, and it was shivery and wonderful.  "The highwayman came riding, riding, riding, the highwayman came riding up to the old inn door".  To this day I can recite The Owl and the Pussycat, which I memorized and recited to him for Fathers Day when I was young.  I'm not sure people read poetry to their children any more, although I think Caroline Kennedy's book about the poetry her mother loved may have revived it a little.

[#4]

I love poetry, too, and I found that my kids loved to memorize it when they were young. I learned "The Owl and the Pussycat" when I was little; my entire family would recite that one. How great about your dad memorizing "The Highwayman"!  I didn't know about Caroline Kennedy's book. I'm going to check that out.  All sorts of poems are coming back to me from my childhood. I remember my brother teased me with: "There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very, vey good, and when she was bad, she was horrid."  There was another one that started with "James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree, first took care of his mother when he was only three....." We named one of our family dogs after this one (James Morrison). Then there are the books by Roald Dahl that have a lot of poetry imbedded (especially James and the Giant Peach). Ahh the memories.

[#5]

One of my happiest memories of my children (who are grown up or almost so now) is having them piled around me like puppies all listening to books as I read to them. We used to check out totebags full of books to take home and read. To this day I still have our favorites because I can't bear the idea of giving them up. I did read them Beatrix Potter, mostly because I lived the anthropomorphism and the illustrations, but I have to admit I thought the stories were a tad harsh and they ended up not being favorites. We read a lot of funny books, and fairy tales and animal stories. I loved A.A. Milne. I still quote from it. lol I also loved (which I grew up with myself) The Little Prince.

[#6]

I read a LOT to my kids, even long past the time when they were fully capable of reading to themselves. It was just such a loving, comfortable ritual to curl up together on the couch with a soft blanket and various books. And I have to admit, being an animal lover, I tended to encourage (or choose) books about animals, and I think it's one of the reasons they are all growing up loving animals. Aside from the fact that we have a whole menagerie here...When they started getting into chapter books, they read all the Animal Ark books (which are not brilliant writing, but are fun nonetheless) and things like Stuart Little and Cricket in Times Square. Gradually, each child has discovered his or her own genre. My daughter loves realistic fiction about people dealing with day to day crises or relationship issues (I think she'd make a great high school counselor - lol), my oldest son loves fantasy and has become a Dungeons and Dragons geek, another son loves non-fiction about ocean life and marine biology...

[#7]

There are so many great books with animals in them - real or imaginary. Petgirl - did your kids ever get into the Narnian Chronicles or Charlotte's Web or the Miss Bianca books? The last ones are a little more obscure about a daring mouse who goes on exciting missions all around the world. They're by Margery Sharp. I also loved The Little White Horse (I think that's the name) by Elizabeth Goudge which is much more than a book about horses.  If I remember correctly it touches on relationships and fantasy and animals so maybe all of your children would like it.

Speaking of reading, my son was an avid reader until about 6th grade and then he started losing interest. (I've since heard that this happens to a lot of boys). I came up with a ploy that really worked.  Instead of insisting that he read for a certain amount of time every day (which starts to sound like homework), I told both my children (including my daughter who would have read in the shower if she could have gotten away with it) that they could request a Thirty Minute Reading Break any time during the day, including after I had asked them to do a task. It wouldn't get them out of the task, just delay it.  Obviously there were a few exceptions (like getting ready for a party or taking the dogs out!).  Suddenly reading started to seem like a treat or a fun way to delay doing work. My son would request it and I would let him read for over an hour before I "remembered" that his time was up.  It really worked and to this day they kid me about requesting this (even though they're 19 and 21).  I really recommend it to anyone who has a reluctant reader in the family.

[#8]

That's a great idea to keep them reading!  My parents trouble was getting us to stop!  Scout11, I also loved the little girl poem.  Another childhood favorite:  " The other day upon the stair I saw a man who wasn't there.  He wasn't there again today -- I wish that he would go away!"

Poetry memorization was much more prevalent in our parents generation than ours, I think.  I took a trip to Raleigh when I was about seven to see my aunt and uncle, and my uncle had a copy of the Crispians Day speech from Henry the V on his desk.  When he saw me looking at it, he asked me if I knew it.  When I said no, he promptly sequestered me in his study to memorize it -- no dinner until I could recite it perfectly!  I can still recite it -- "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. . ."  I didn't appreciate it at the time, but I do now!

[#9]

I used to teach English in high school and I would have my students memorize a soliloquy from whatever Shakespeare we were reading (Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet). When they were done and had recited before the class, I would tell them the true story about how it might save their lives someday.

There was a Congressman from Mississippi or Alabama who had been in the Vietnam War. I heard him tell his story on NPR years ago. He talked about becoming a POW in one of the Vietnamese war camps and how he never knew from day to day whether he would live or die. The camp officials forbade any prisoners from talking to each other and made them do menial labor like sweeping dirt paddocks all day long.  The American POWs quickly realized that although they came from different regions in the States, they had all learned Morse Code and so they would tap out little messages to each other all day long. This worked for a while, but there was only so much small talk they could come up with under the circumstances. At night they would tap out messages on the bars as well.

Then they discovered that despite their different backgrounds, they had all had to memorize Shakespeare in high school, so they started quizzing each other in Morse Code.  One might tap out "Out, out brief candle" or "Out damned spot" or "Wherefore art thou" and then they'd have others tap out the name of the play, or the character who said this, or even the next line.  The Congressman said that these memorized selections kept their brains active and kept them from going crazy. He swears it saved his life until he eventually got rescued!

[#10]

Wow, your stories and ideas are wonderful! I am loving this thread! Scout, my kids loved the Chronicles of Narnia. We were also big into fantasy in general, so the Hobbit was a favorite and then the LOTR books (which led to the films - which unfortunately, they liked better. haha) We read the Miss Bianca books. Also the books by Mem Fox, about magical possums and such.

[#11]

Pet girl, it sounds like your family and mine are very much on the same wavelength!  I don't know the Mem Fox books (I'll definitely check them out) but that reminded me of the Brer Rabbit tales by Joel Chandler Harris. In some circles they are not considered to be pc but actually if you look into the author, he was a scholar and a linguist who loved recreating faithfully southern slave dialect and southern regionalisms.  His stories are funny and clever and wonderful to read aloud (after you practice a bit). 

There are so many other authors I would recommend if you haven't already discovered them: Edith Nesbit (British writer of a huge number of books including The Bastable Children, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, etc.), Lloyd Alexander (a Welsh writer of dark and fascinating fantasies about Green Knowe); Edward Eager (wonderful fantasies involving a family of children and then eventually includes their children); Elizabeth Enright (also marvelous); Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, and many, many other great ones); Roald Dahl (witty, a bit twisted, wonderful); Joan Aiken (Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Nightbirds on Nantucket, Blackhearts in Batterseas). I'll add more later if you're interested.

[#12]

I loved (and still love) Dr. Suess books. I also have gone back and began reading The Chronicles of Narnia series. As an adult, the books take on a whole different meaning than they had when I was younger and I appreciate them even more. Reading was and is a big part of my life. I spend many hours at my local libraries and amaze friends at all that I know about them! I think everyone should read as much as they can because you can learn so much from books.

[#13]

I agree, jessiekate205!  Libraries are the best. My first job was shelving books in a library, and I worked really fast so that every now and then I could take a peek at an interesting book. My new discovery is how great books on tape are for car trips. It used to be that I could only make it for about 2 hours at a stretch, but when I'm listening to an audiotape, I can drive for twice that long! 

[#14]

Although I loved reading to my children, I actually hate being read to. Isn't that strange? lol I think it might have something to do with the speed at which I read - it frustrates me to have to listen to someone else read out every. single. word....I loved the author list above in scout's post - all familiar and dear to me except Edward Eager, whose works I shall have to look for!  When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in libraries! During the summer breaks from school I would walk there every few days and fill a huge tote bag with books to take home and read, and then I would be back a few days later. I think the children's librarian became quite fond of me, and vice versa. Although I can't for the life of me remember her name, I can still to this day remember her face and remember many of the authors she recommended.

[#15]

I cut my literary teeth on Dr. Seuss, bless my mothers heart for shoving them at me.  I am a voracious reader, though my preference is science fiction and fantasy mostly.  I could get lost in a bookstore for hours and not miss the passage of time at all.  I'll have to check out the authors in your post, Scout.  You make them sound irresistable.

[#16]

What does that mean you cut your teeth on Dr. Seuss? You poor thing, you mean like you bit it or something and chipped your tooth? Were you a toddler? And why was your mother throwing books at you?! I'm so sorry to hear you were abused that way.

[#17]

My literary teeth, a metaphor?  How else do you develop a taste for Dr Seuss.    (Not sure that sounds at all right.)

And don't ask me what a metas for. 

Please. 

[#18]

As long as we're throwing literary devices around, maybe honeybuns was being ironic? Were you, honeybuns?

As for gardendigger's comment about the helpful children's librarian, I had a very different experience. The children's librarian near our home was very rigid and wouldn't let me take out any books that were beyond my grade level!  When my dad found out, he marched into the library with me in tow, and insisted that I be allowed to take out any books I wanted (within reason -- obviously nothing x-rated!). The librarian had to relent since my father ran the annual book sale at the library and was probably on its board or something. I remember how exciting it was to move beyond 3rd grade books and peruse at will. 

[#19]

I like reading books and then watching movies based on them. I like to see if the movies are faithful to the books, and when they're not, it's fun to see if they are an improvement. Usually they're not. One exception that comes to mind where a change to a book worked was the modern version of Little Women with Winona Ryder. At the end of the book, Jo marries Professor Behr and he's considerably older in the book and a bit frumpy. In the movie, the Irish actor Gabriel Byrne playes Behr and he is SOO cute. This was one exception to the book that I could live with.

-

[#20]

I agree with moviemad. Another movie that I thought was faithful to the book was the animated version of Charlotte's Web. They turned it into a bit of a musical with (I think) Doris Day doing most of the singing, but it really did remain true to the book otherwise.

I wonder how people feel about the Harry Potter movies? My own children have enjoyed both the books and the movies, although they have commented on how the different directors had their own unique approaches. Speaking of which, I can't imagine how the directors decide what to cut from a 400+ page book! What a challenge.

[#21]

All of my kids and I have adored the Harry Potter books, and enjoyed the movies. The only thing I would say is that I wouldn't let my kids see the movie until they had read the particular book it was based on. So before we saw the recent Harry Potter 7: Part 1, everyone had to have finished the books. The books are so much more detailed and richer in scope than the movies (being two hours each) could even hope to be, and while the films are good they just don't come close to doing the books justice. I would hate to see people miss out on the whole experience of the series just because they'd seen the films and thought that was pretty much it.

[#22]

So true, petgirl. The Harry Potter books are much more complex than the movies. I felt the same way about The Lord of the Rings movies. As much as I enjoyed them, I loved the books more. 

[#23]

Throwing literary devices around sounds dangersous. :-P I love comparing movies to the books they are based on, but I don't get upset if the director takes the movie a different direction, after all it is a completely different medium. Or is it media? Hmm.. In any case, I fully appreciated the LOTR experience, it was fantastic. For the Harry Potter series, I only read the books after I'd seen the first few movies, and I'm very glad I did read them. It really improved my viewing pleasure. My latest guilty pleasure is seeing all these Superhero movies being made. Having read nearly every comicbook written in the '70's and 80's, I am thoroughly enjoying the realization of the characters in serious treatments. Green lantern... omg, I like, so totally want to see that movie!!! -- Sorry, my inner geek escaped for a moment. :-)

[#24]

Rafferty's reference to superhero movies reminded me of the Iron Man series with Robert Downey, Jr. I thought the first one was especially good. It didn't take itself too seriously but was clever and exciting in an old-fashioned kind of way. I also liked the relationship between Robert Downey, Jr.'s character and Gwyneth Paltrow's character. I was a little disappointed with the second one, but I was also really tired when I saw it, so I may have missed some of the nuances.

Speaking of Robert Downey, Jr., I thought he was great in the recent Sherlock Holmes movie. It contained some unexpected bits about Holmes' boxing background, but was very compelling.

[#25]

I agree about the Iron Man movies.  The first one set a high standard that the future comic book adaptations will have to make sure they at least meet.  Thor was not as good as I thought it would be.  I'm hoping that when Capt. America is out and they start work on the Avengers movies that they'll have all the bugs worked out.  I've already geeked out about Green Lantern enough, I think. 

Robert Downey Jr. was excellent as Holmes, not mad about the rest of the cast, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and seeing Holmes in a more Human, vulnerable way.

[#26]

I haven't seen Thor yet, but based on rafferty's comment, maybe I won't bother!  Although it has nothing to do with comic book adaptations, I have heard that the new Woody Allen movie is really good. The cast is supposed to be phenomenal and the setting in Paris is magical. I have it on my "to see" list.

[#27]

I heard the same thing scout11 did about the Woody Allen movie, but I never got to see it. I guess I will have to wait for netflix!

[#28]

Hmmm, maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate Woody Allen, but his films don't really grab me. And when something is set in Paris, my anglophile side says "Psshhht. Paris. So what." lol Now if it were set in London, that would totally be a different animal!

[#29]

Well I finally did get to see it and I have mixed feelings. The setting was gorgeous (sorry, petgirl,  but I think even you would agree), most of the acting was strong, and the premise was clever. However, one of the main characters bothered me so much it interfered with the movie. I won't say which one so that I don't spoil things for someone else by predisposing them against him/her. Let's just say that although I have no problem with flawed characters (god knows we all are), I like 3 dimensional characters who have appealing sides along with their flaws. This particular character was an awful person with no apparent redeeming qualities. It made it very hard to believe that he/she was loved by certain other people.  

I'd love to hear someone else's opinion who has seen it. Maybe I missed something....