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#1"So what are your students reading?" I write back. And the next morning...I get another email.
Hello...I am an English teacher from Minnesota, living and teaching in Estonia, Europe. I am using your book-club questions to help my students discuss what they are reading for my "home-reading" assignments. Thank you so much—they have really helped my students get more out of their reading.
#2Who is this guy? I wonder. "Who are you," I write"... and what are you doing in Estonia?" His name is Parry...and next morning, I get a 3rd note!
My sixth graders have read some graded readers, Around the World in 80 Days, Last of the Mohicans, some sports books about soccer players and so on.
Older kids are interested in the pop literature of the day—the Divergent Series, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, The Fault in our Stars. Some kids read biographies or non-fiction as well. They do a mostly good job of summarizing what they have read, but then have difficulty discussing anything further—that is where your questions have really helped us out.
#3
I teach at a private school in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The school, or kool, is called Rocca al Mare ("rock by the sea") and it is right next to the Baltic Sea in a beautiful forest setting. I am from Minnesota but have been living in Estonia for almost 9 years. I have family here now and have no plans to return to the U.S. anytime soon.
Most of his kids, Parry writes, are quite fluent in English—speaking and writing with relative ease. It's an "A language," which means they begin learning it in first grade. They're also influenced by the Internet and TV—often inserting English words into sentences when speaking in Estonian. Or they'll take an American verb and "Estonianize" it.
Estonia is so small that language-learning is extremely important, says Parry, even in everyday life. Many people can speak 3, 4, even 5 languages, sometimes fluently. Starting in the 3rd grade, students can also choose a "B language"—French, German, Russian, or Spanish—and later can add a "C language," which at that point includes Finnish.
A favorite movie of mine, I tell him, is The Singing Revolution—how Estonia gained independence from the Soviets in 1991. They literally sung their way to freedom. It's a gripping, powerful story.
He knows the movie. "Estonians are very proud of how they won their independence that time. Summer 2014 is the next Summer Song Festival, which is held every four years; you might find videos of past song festivals under the title Laulupidu, which means song festival in Estonian."
Then he ends with..."Of course, Estonia's freedom is very fragile: it has never been free as a nation for any long period of time."
(Click on a cover to see the Reading Guide.)
Notice anything...oh, I dunno...funny? Check out some of 2014's "big" books so far. Clearly, somebody likes blue ... or is pretty sure the rest of us do.
Do you remember the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where boss Miranda chastises Andrea for mocking a popular color of blue? Miranda tells her the shade was chosen after intensive consumer research, followed by a high stakes marketing campaign—all to make women WANT-NEED-BUY that very color. In other words, consumers think we have free will...but we're simply being manipulated.
Is that what's going on with New York publishers (five different houses are represented here)? Is a conspiracy afoot in the literary world? Oh gracious. But then, again, maybe we're just paranoid. Wouldn't be the first time.
So what does blue evoke in YOU?
Graphic Novels
Our last post highlighted a sizeable list of 2013 films inspired by some of our favorite books. If the following list is any indication, it looks like we’ll be hitting the library before we go to the theaters again this year, too.
Books-to-Movies in 2014
Click on titles for Reading Guides
Monuments Men (January)
Book by Robert M. Edsel
Movie with George Clooney, Matt Damon, et al.
A group of American art specialists come together during World War II to recover world masterpieces stolen by the Nazis.Winter's Tale (February)
Book by Mark Helprin
Movie with Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay
Peter Lake, a thief, falls in love with a woman as she dies in his arms. After discovering his ability to revive the dead, he is determined to save her.Serena (April)
Book by Ron Nash
Movie with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper
When Serena Pemberton discovers she cannot bear children, the life that she has built with her husband, George, begins to unravel.Child 44 (June)
Book by Tom Rob Smith
Movie with Tom Hardy, Joel Kinnaman
Investigating a series of child murders in Stalin era Soviet Russia, Leo Demidov must battle the odds to expose a threat the State won’t admit exists.The Fault in Our Stars (June)
Book by John Greene
Movie with Shailene Woodley
Hazel and Gus are an inseparable pair of teens who meet in the most unlikely of places—a cancer support group.Under the Dome * (June 2014)
Book by Stephen King
TV series (Season 2)
An invisible and mysterious force field descends upon a small town, trapping residents inside, cut off from the rest of civilization. What is the dome and why is it there?The Giver (August)
Book by Lois Lowry
Movie with Meryl Streep
Living in a seemingly perfect community, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elder about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.Outlander (Summer)
Book by Diana Galbaldan
TV series (Season 1)
Claire Randall, a wartime nurse, lives a double life: a husband in 1945 and, by inadvertently touching an ancient stone, a lover in 1743.This Is Where I Leave You (September)
Book by Jonathan Tropper
Movie with Jason Bateman
In order to honor their father’s final wish, a non-practicing Jewish family must sit Shivah together for one week.Gone Girl (October)
Book by Giullian Flynn
Movie with Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck
It doesn't take long for Nick to become a suspect when his wife Amy goes missing. But are things always what they seem?The Hobbit (Part 3) (December)
Book J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie with Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly
In this third installment, the company of Thorin have reached Smaug’s cave, but can the group reclaim the dwarven treasure?Before I Go to Sleep (TBA)
Book by S.J. Watson
Movie with Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth
As the result of a tragic accident in her past, Chrissie Lucas awakes everyday with no memories. One day, she discovers new truths that force her to question who she can trust.Wild (TBA)
Book by Cheryl Strayed
Movie with Reese Witherspoon
In order to cope with a series of catastrophic life events, Cheryl embarks on a 1,100 mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail.* Carry-over from 2013.
Books hit the box office in a big way last year. Just in case you were visiting another planet—here's a list of notable books found on the screen in 2013. Don't worry, though: if you were clueless about a few...so were we!
Books-to-Movies in 2013
Click on titles for Reading Guides
Austenland
Book by Shannon Hale
Movie with Keri Russell
Jane, a single, modern day New Yorker, is in search of her own Mr. Darcy. What else to do but sign up at a two week fantasy resort for Austen obsessed women!Beautiful Creatures
Book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Movie with Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert
In a few months, when Lena turns 16, she will be "claimed" by the Light or the Dark. Along with her boyfriend Ethan, she must fight off supernatural powers.The Book Thief
Book by Markus Zusak
Movie with Sophie Nelisse, Emily Watson
Coming-of-age story story in Nazi Germany. Leisel learns to read, and is driven to collect stolen books and a set of peculiar friends, including a Jewish refugee.Catching Fire
Book by Suzanne Collins
Movie with Jennifer Lawrence
Katniss won the Hunger Games and should feel secure in her family's safety. But she becomes the face of a popular rebellion—and now the capitol wants revenge.City of Bones
Book by Cassandra Clare
Movie with Lilly Collins
Teenager Clary Fray witnesses a murder, but the body disappears into thin air. Then she meets Jace and is suddenly pulled into the world of the Shadow Hunters.Enders Game
Book by Orson Scott Card
Movie with Harrison Ford
Government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers to fight a hostile alien race. One future soldier is brilliant young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin.The Great Gatsby
Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Movie with Leonardo DiCaprio
Baz Lurhmann's take on the great Great Gatsby, an American classic that highlights our penchant to remake ourselves. Upper class shinanigans lead to tragedy.The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Book by J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie with Ian McKellan
Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the Dwarves continue their quest to reclaim their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.Labor Day
Book by Joyce Maynard
Movie with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin
Henry Wheeler's life is changed forever when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. A story of love, and treachery.The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Book by Mohsin Hamid
Movie with Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson
Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. Princeton, Wall Street, and beautiful Eric. But 9/11 changes everything as he discovers more fundamental allegiances.Safe Haven
Book by Nicholas Sparks
Movie with Julianne Hough and Josh Duhame
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.Silver Linings Playbook
Book by Matthew Quick
Movie with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.12 Years a Slave
Book by Solomon Northup
Movie with Chiwetel Ejiofor
The memoir of a black man born free in New York state but kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before the American Civil War.Under the Dome
Book by Stephen King
TV series (Season 1)
An invisible and mysterious force field descends upon a small town, trapping residents inside, cut off from the rest of civilization. What is the dome and why is it there?*We snuck Silver Linings in from late December 2012.
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