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Tuesday Tales – The Help Movie

Posted on August 16, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Two weeks before The Help Movie was released, I was able to head to a local screening of the movie. I went with my mother to a packed theater. We all sat there with much anticipation. Those who had read the book were busy chatting to each other on whether it would live up to their expectations and love for the book. I have to admit, I was one of those people.

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett in the fall and adored it. I actually listened to the audio version of the book. It was powerful, hit hard, and really told a story of a time that we hope never to witness again. I did not want the tale of these amazing women to end. I was in their world and I wanted to continue their journey with them.

As I have written before, I often worry about books, especially ones with such a positive reputation, being made into a movie. I often blame it on being a teacher and watching book after book get mangled by Hollywood when it is transformed. It makes me so happy when they get it right and the book that I adore comes alive on the big screen. I am thrilled to report The Help Movie did not disappoint.

My review had to be held until the movie was released. For the last few weeks, I have tried to wrap my mind around the movie, but it truly is very hard. I think I can sum it up really easily:

The Help is THE must see movie of Summer 2011!

Words can not describe the story that comes alive in this movie that is just over two hours. One minute, I was laughing. The next, I was fighting tears in my eyes. I can not recall a movie where the entire audience was laughing, crying, and cheering together like this. The subject matter was focused on an era gone by, but the message was so much larger. The tag line for the movie “Change begins with a whisper” really lets you know what the message of the novel/movie is about. Quiet work by brave ladies to tell the story of these amazing African American women who took care of children and confronting societal expectations of women in general were clear.

So many of my favorite parts of the book were seen in The Help movie, but one in particular really hit hard. It was when Aibileen (played by Viola Davis) uttered the infamous words of wisdom to Mae Mobley. It made me tear up and wish that more parents and people in general would say things like this to our youth. Here is what I am talking about:

I can honestly say that I want to see The Help again. I want to sit and listen to the story, take away the message, and watch the amazing actors on the big screen. I do not believe that this is the last that we will hear about this movie. I have a feeling many Academy Award nominations will follow for the cast that was assembled for this extremely well done epic film.

Have you read the book or seen the movie yet? I would love to know what you thought. I am especially curious if you saw the movie and have not had a chance to read the novel.

Of course, since this is Tuesday Tales, I must ask the usual question. What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: I received complementary passes for two to see the pre-screening of The Help from DreamWorks PR. As a fan of the book, I wanted to share this information with my readers. No other compensation was given and no review expected. All opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

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Tuesday Tales – DC Super Heroes Books

Posted on August 9, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

As the mother of two little boys, I have written about my need for a tutor in Super Heroes 101. I do believe I may have found something that will help my need to learn more about the characters that my boys love, but also keep my oldest reading.

While at the library with TechyDad one rainy Saturday, the boys were looking at the chapter book section together. At this point, we had just gotten NHL reading the A to Z Mysteries and he realized that chapter books were not as scary as he thought they were. Suddenly, they noticed some Batman and Superman Series from Capstone Publishers. Yes, there they were pulling my son under their spell. He asked to take one home to try. That book was finished rather quickly. On our next trip to the library, he picked up these three Super DC Heroes Superman books.

As a reading teacher, I have learned that I will rarely turn my nose up at any book that a child will read. Thankfully, these days there are a lot more books out there for reluctant readers, especially on topics that boys will be attracted to. These books range from 3-4 grade reading level and have an M in Guided Reading Level.

NHL seems to really like these books. He will sit and devour them and then after tell us all about them. As a parent, I like that they keep his interest and are giving him more than a simple story. How do they do that? Well, let’s look inside one of the Superman books. Yes, they have pictures within, but they are also filled with dialogue among the characters, show paragraph formation, and more for early reader/writers.

Saturday night, NHL finished one of the books. TechyDad opened up the book and that is when the two of us realized how much more was inside. At the end of each book, there is a summary from Clark Kent on Daily Planet letter head. Within this, he summaries who the arch nemesis of the book is and highlights and explains crucial parts.

Then, there is a biography page. This is perfect for people like me who are still learning about all of the people. On the opposite side is a glossary of terms. Check out the vocabulary, not too shabby for a chapter book. The teacher in me was impressed and happy that children were being challenged while reading these books.

Then, I heard TechyDad asking NHL questions. You guessed it, there were some discussion questions at the end of the book. Not only did they make NHL think about what he read, but called on prior knowledge to make connections. Each built on things and really made the reader explain why they answered one way or another. In addition to this, there were some fantastic writing prompts. One asked you to write your favorite part of the book from a different character’s perspective.

What you may also notice is that the last page points you to a website for the kids. The publishers have a spot where you can go and catch up with characters from all of their different series, including the DC Super Heroes. Thanks to this, I now know there are 16 in the Superman series and can reference the characters and things with NHL in a safe, child friendly setting.

My lesson learned, I will not judge a book by it’s cover again. Just because it looks a bit comic book like, it can still pack an educational punch.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

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Tuesday Tales – Thank You Harry Potter

Posted on August 2, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

As I wrote a few weeks ago, Harry Potter grew up along with me. As Harry went through Hogwarts, I graduated from earned two college degrees, got married, became a teacher, had two children, and the list goes on. I started the series while I was still in college getting my teaching degree. Then, I read the fourth book as my water broke for NHL’s arrival in August 2003. I still remember devouring the last book as I nursed JSL in the summer of 2007. So many memories.

One may have assumed that I rushed out to see all of the movies when they were released. That would be a bad assumption. While I have seen all seven of the previous movies, I had never seen any of them before they were released on DVD. I am happy to report that I finally broke that this past weekend. TechyDad and I were able to go on a movie date while Nana and Papa watched the kids. We went to witness the final chapter of this saga on the big screen.

I was excited and nervous about seeing this film. Would it live up to my expectations from the last book? Would I resent Hollywood for the way they represented some very intense moments? Would I cry like a baby? So many things were running through my mind as the movie started.

In the end, I loved the movie. It lived up to my expectations and more. It was powerful, made me feel like I was in their world, and the acting fantastic. I will also admit that I fell more in love with the actor that plays Severus Snape.

*Gasp* I know – I just admitted I like Snape. I am completely fascinated with Alan Rickman’s portrayal of the professor that everyone loves to hate. I also find it interesting that Lord Voldemort was played by Ralph Fiennes, who played one of the horrid Nazi’s in the Academy Award winning Schindler’s List. While looking around online, I found this History of Snape video and adore it. I had chills watching this with interviews from many actors in Harry Potter actors and J.K. Rowling. Enjoy!

Although seeing this final movie was sad, it helped me to close this chapter of my Harry Potter life. Of course, now I am even more excited to share the wonderful world of Harry Potter with my boys as they grow up. NHL has seen the first movie and is now quite intrigued with the series. I think we may do a read aloud of the books soon. TechyDad wrote about NHL confusing something from Harry Potter and the world of the Smurfs – really he did.

Please feel free to share your favorite Harry Potter moment from the past, present, or possibly future. I would love to hear them.

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Disclosure: For the record, I did have tears in my eyes for several parts of the movie. Highly recommend seeing this movie and bringing tissues or a good sleeve to wipe your eyes.

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Tuesday Tales – Goodbye Borders

Posted on July 26, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

As a teacher, I received a lot of gift cards to the local book stores. The most popular, for a while, was Borders. I was able to go and shop for myself, my classroom, and my family. With my free Borders reward card and teacher discount, it was a nice place to go and play.

When NHL was little, we used to go to Borders and spend a lot of time there. He would wander around the store, practice walking, or nap in his stroller while I would gawk at books to use in my classroom. When we would go to our local mall, we would always park by Borders. The kids always begged for a new book. Sad to say that TechyDad and I often caved at the bargain book section – especially before a trip away.

When we heard that Borders was going to close and start to liquidate their inventory, we figured we would head over there to see what was going on. The first day of the sale was during the heat wave, so it was the perfect location to spend time walking up and down the aisles.

Something caught me off guard. NHL, almost 8, asked me why Borders was going to close. I told him that sometimes businesses are not able to stay open, so they are going to be closing all of their stores. He was visibly upset and told me that he was sad. He stood there in the store recalling times that we had gone there together. He remembered books that we had bought, events we had participated in there, and on and on.

We walked around looking for something to get the boys. I was intrigued with some math/reading books for NHL, but passed. Instead, we got him a new Sudoku book for the summer and beyond. Then, I noticed the Geronimo Stilton books from Scholastic. My eyes noticed the one on Niagara Falls. NHL eventually agreed that he wanted to try that chapter book since it looked interesting and very different. Then, it was time to find something for JSL. He fell in love with a Winnie the Pooh book about the new movie. I agreed and he is in love with the Read-Along CD. He has never used one of these before and loves the character voices telling him the story for independent reading.

I also picked up a non-book item for TechyDad. They had Envirosax. They happened to sell the Sesame Street variety there. I was in luck, they had one of the Grover bags left, so grabbed it.

While paying, it was sad to realize that this was the last time I will use a gift card at Borders. It may be the last time we buy something at Borders. Of course, the memories of the times spent there, and the books we will continue to read that we bought there will live on.

What memories do you have of Borders? Did you go to their Harry Potter or Twilight Parties? Will you be going to their sale to see about getting some books to put away?

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Tuesday Tales – eReader Envy

Posted on July 19, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

This may surprise you, but I am not the owner of an eReader. Do not get me wrong, I would love to have one. The reality is there are other items that I would like more – you know like a getaway with hubby. For months, my friends with iPhones have been raving about the free Kindle App that is available. May I introduce you to Pod:

Yes, I inherited an iPod that my parents were no longer using. It gets a lot of use with different educational applications and such. The other day, I added something for me on Pod – check it out:

Since that time, Pod has been getting a bit more use. I am trying to see what I think of reading using the Kindle App. Wait, am I talking about my iPod like that – why yes I am! Thanks to great resources out there like Mandy at Mommy Cracked, you can often find free and cheap books to download for your Kindle or other eReader. Mandy just published as I was working on a post, so I thought it was perfect to share.

For my test reading, I went to the Amazon Kindle Store. Once there, I searched for free books. I noticed one that seemed interesting to me. So I quickly downloaded One True Love by Barbara Freethy and a few classics like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

It was simple to download and within seconds I had my book to read:

I have to admit, I was not sure how I would feel about reading in this tiny format, or without a book in my hand. I started just a short time ago and am already done with a good chunk of the book. I have no complaints about the size of the Kindle app and can alter the font size to what works best for me. Here’s a view of the pages and tracking how far you have read:

I do not think this will completely replace my book reading until I get a “real” eReader (Kindle, Nook, or other would be fantastic to review on Tuesday Tales – no?!). For now, I like the portability of Pod with the Kindle app and I think it is great to take on the go, so long as the kids allow me to use it.

Do you have an eReader or Kindle App? I would love to know what you think and could use any book suggestions that you have loved in this format.