How to encourage reading

What Makes a Great Character: Hermione Granger

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 11 Comments

My daughter loves to raise her hand to answer questions.  She puts it high up there.   
She also likes to tell her brothers what to do.
 
And before we leave for a car trip, she organizes her essential belongings into one of her many bags.
I like to call her “My little Hermione.”
J.K. Rowling gives us many wonderful gifts with her Harry Potter series:  a fantastically detailed magical world, an epic story of good prevailing over evil, and best of all, engaging characters that grow and mature as the plot thickens and convolutes.

Why I Love Hermione

Although Harry has many admirable qualities, Hermione earns my deepest affection.  I loved following her from her spunky, yet tender (note the crying in the bathroom before the Cave Troll appears) preadolescent years into her young adult struggles with loyalty, sacrifice, and yes, still some bossiness.  But let’s be honest, Harry and Ron need her direction, don’t you think?
Hermione has flaws, as every good three dimensional character should.  She irritates her classmates and even her friends with her intense work ethic and exceptional intellect.   She sometimes lacks tact.  According to the books, she has buck teeth and frizzy hair.  (Emma Watson portrays a far prettier Hermione in the movies, but we’ll forgive the producers this oversight.)  And am I the only one who can’t fathom what she sees in Ron? 
On the other hand, she has many strengths, such as brains, integrity, uncompromising loyalty, and a superb ability to cast spells.
But here’s the best thing about Hermione Granger:  she refuses to shrink from her talents.  Shouldn’t all girls possess such profound confidence?  (Click here to tweet this if you agree!)
Yet Rowling makes it clear that Hermione couldn’t survive on her own.  Her friendship with Ron and Harry thrives on interdependence.  What Hermione lacks in humility, Harry certainly makes up for.  What Ron lacks in knowledge, Hermione fills in.  When Harry and Ron both suffer from lack of common sense, Hermione steps in to set them straight.  It’s also nice to see Hermione and Harry develop a deep but strictly platonic friendship. 
Cheers to Hermione for showing girls of every age that it’s okay to be smart and that you can like a guy and not want to kiss him.

Some of my favorite “Hermione quotes” from Mugglenet.com:

  • “Just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have.”
  • “Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you Malfoy?”
  • Hermione drew herself to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her hair seemed to crackle with electricity.  “No,” she said, her voice quivering with anger, “but I will write to your mother.”
  • “Harry–you’re a great wizard, you know.” “I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let him go. “Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things–friendship and bravery and–oh Harry–be careful!” 

Hermione has it right again; friendship, bravery and caution are very important things indeed.
Why do you think Hermione is a great character?   What other strong female characters have you found in literature, especially in books for kids or young adults?  Thanks for adding to the discussion!

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Julia
Improving vocabulary

How John Green Can Improve Your Vocabulary

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

Last Week’s Winners

Thank you to everyone who gave the August Vocabulary Review a try!  The answers were:
  1. oleophobic = oil resistant, and Apple puts it on iPads to resist the oil on our fingers.  (Maybe iPhones and iTouches too)
  2. ersatz = inferior substitute
  3. winsome:pleasing :: supercilious: haughty, arrogant, conceited
Although many of you were close, I’m going to share “Link Love” with two bloggers who had the most correct answers:
*Word Nerdy Note:  Emily now has two wins under her belt!  Good job Emily.

Look for a quiz the last Tuesday of the month to test your Word Nerd prowess and see if you can beat the two win record!

This week’s Word Nerd Word

I recently finished the YA novel Paper Towns by John Green.  You can count on Green for humor, as well as a good dose of geeky.  Maybe that’s why I like him so much.  His characters regularly spout off multisyllable words as they evaluate their lives as well as good pieces of literature (another reason I’m a fan.)  Here’s a useful piece of vocab for you:

Ben came over after dinner and we played Resurrection, pausing every half hour or so to call Radar, who was on a date with Angela.  We left him eleven messages, each more annoying salacious than the last.  

Salacious \sə-‘lā-shəs\  adjfrom Latin salax, fond of leaping, lustful, and salire to leap; arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination; lascivious

Teenaged boys leaving salacious messages?  Never!

Word Nerd Workout:  Think of a something from the media (a TV show, movie, or song, for example) that  could be described as salacious.  I’m thinking these suggestions will help the meaning of the word stick in our heads.

My example:  True Blood  (Although I’ve never watched it.  Honestly.)

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Other Word Nerd Words:

Julia
Book reviews

What I Like (and Don’t) About Little Bee

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments
I never thought I’d have much in common with a girl from the jungles of Nigeria, but it turns out that Little Bee, the title character in Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee, and I share a profound respect for the English language.  However, while we both use language to share ideas and emotions, Little Bee also depends on language to survive.
Cleave gives us two narrators in Little Bee.  The first, and the novel’s namesake, begins her story as she leaves an “Immigration Removal Center” near London.  To contrast, Cleave also gives us Sarah, a London suburbanite mired in unhappiness.  When the different worlds of these two characters collide, everything changes.  Western culture meets third world reality, and the results are sobering.
Early in the story, Little Bee addresses the difficulties of mastering “the Queen’s English.”  She says,

“Every word can defend itself.  Just when you go to grab it, it can split into two separate meanings so the understanding closes on empty air…  You are like sorcerers and you have made your language as safe as your money.”

I love this reverence for the power of words, with a special nod to elusive and double meanings.    Little Bee understands that she must learn how to wield this power to find safety as a refugee in England.  And although she makes mistakes, like calling a cab driver a “cock” because he has hair like a rock star, her words break through the shield of Western complacency to expose us to the reality of her life.  About our horror movies she says,

“Horror in your country is something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it.”

Ouch.  But that’s why Little Bee’s voice works so well; she’s honest.
Cleave could lecture to us, but he doesn’t.  Instead, he juxtaposes the words of two very different people and allows us to draw our own conclusions.   As both a reader and a writer, I admire that technique.  But I had issues with other aspects of the novel.
Unfortunately, I could not relate to Sarah or the other “Western” characters, even though I share much more with them than Little Bee.  Too often, they came across as self-centered, and even whiny.  Also, I couldn’t understand a lot of Sarah’s decisions, especially a big one at the end of the book.

Additionally, at key moments, the plot felt contrived.   I understand from reading the author’s notes at the end of the book that Cleave intentionally made the critical beach scene “morally ambiguous”, allowing readers to judge the choices of the characters.   However, I don’t believe anyonewould have escaped alive.  But then, if they didn’t, we wouldn’t have a story, would we?

I appreciate the book for Little Bee’s thought provoking insights into western culture, globalization, and human nature, and also, of course, for its acknowledgement of the powerful influence of words.  But I struggle with several aspects of the plot, most notably the circumstances of Andrew’s death and the closing scenes.  I find myself wondering which pieces matter more, characterization, plot, or the writing itself (which is excellent.)
If you have read Little Bee, what did you like best and least about it?  If you haven’t, can you share which aspects of a novel mean the most to you?  Thanks for discussing!

More book reviews:

Julia

Improving vocabulary

August Word Nerd Vocabulary Review

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

I can’t believe it!  Summer is ending.  But we’ve learned some great words with our beach reads, haven’t we?  To prove it, you all are going to ace this quiz I’ve created.  Give it a try, and dare a fellow reader to beat you.

Word Nerd Workout

Answer the following vocabulary questions; if you get every one right, I’ll share “link love” and shout out about your word nerd savy all over Facebook and Twitter!
  1. I wish Honda put an oleophobic coating on all of its minivan windows. 
    1. What does an oleophobic shield do?
      1. filters the sun
      2. resists oil
      3. absorbs sound
    2. What fine product does have such a coating?   __________________
  2. My friend Leslie refuses to watch the Twilight movies; she finds Robert Pattinson an ersatz Edward compared to the one she imagines in her head.  (Note: I disagree with her.)  What does ersatz mean?

    1. taciturn
    2. immature
    3. inferior substitute
  3. Complete the analogy.  winsome:pleasing:: supercilious: ___________________

Thanks for playing!

If you want more questions, check out quizzes from:

Julia
How to encourage reading

Offer a Magazine to a Reluctant Reader

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

You might not expect a word nerd to say this, but I respect the fact that not everyone loves books like I do. 
However, I do believe everyone needs to be able to read.  And can benefit from reading.
I’m not alone.  Walter Dean Myers, our current Ambassador for Young People’s literature said it best –  reading in today’s society is a necessary skill.  Not optional.  Necessary. 
So how do we entice reluctant readers to hone their skills?  We find them something they want to read- and realize that might notbe a book.
 

Reading Preferences vary by Gender

According to education.com, by high school, boys are less likely to read for pleasure than girls.  And if you ask them why, they’ll tell you things like “I don’t have time,” “It’s boring,” or “I’d rather do something else.”  (I’m going to take a guess here that those other things involve either a ball or a video game controller of some kind.) 
While we shouldn’t make generalizations about guys and reading (I live with three males who love pleasure reading), I found interesting information from the study quoted at education.com:
  • Boys prefer magazines, newspapers, and non-fiction
  • Boys enjoy reading about sports or hobbies; some also like fantasy/science fiction
  • Boys enjoy visual texts and graphic novels more than girls.  (A graphic novel tells a story in comic book format.  Result:  more pictures than text.  Lots of graphic novels are becoming available now; even Twilight was “translated” into a graphic novel.)
  • Along the “visual” lines, boys will judge a book by its cover (not necessarily the text on the back)

Have you seen this in your life?  My friend Michelle tells me her husband will never open a book, but he pours over his hunting and fishing magazines. 
Even if these observations don’t exactly fit your experience, maybe we can take this information and creatively find new ways to pull our hesitant friends, spouses, and children into the wonderful world of reading.  There are so many more options out there – we should remember that “reading” doesn’t just mean “books”. 
 

Grab them with a magazine

With that in mind, let me recommend a popular periodical in our house:  National Geographic Kids.  Packed with interesting photos, NG Kids usually features a behind the scenes look into an upcoming movie release, as well as articles on the environment, science, and a regular page called “Weird but True.”  (Did you know that a man once blew a bubble gum bubble that was bigger than a basketball?  My daughter told me this after I scolded her for continuous bubble blowing.) 
I’m considering giving magazine subscriptions for birthday gifts now- a great way to encourage reading that lasts for 12 months! 
If you know someone who doesn’t like to read, stop at the store and find a magazine about something that interests them – maybe a hobby or a sport, but not a gossip magazine, please.  Then, leave it lying where they can find it.  See if they pick it up.  Tell me what happens.

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Julia
Improving vocabulary

Vocabulary from the Novel “Little Bee”

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

I need help this week in the vocabulary department.  I’m not saying that the great Chris Cleave incorrectly used a word, but I don’t understand how he used it.  See what you think.

In Cleave’s novel, Little Bee, everything spins around an unusual meeting on an African beach between two young African girls, an armed guard, a British couple on holiday, and a band of hired killers.  Doesn’t sound good, does it?

Here’s the piece I’m struggling with, told by Sarah, a British woman and one of the primary narrators of the novel.  She is describing her very dangerous confrontation with a man holding a machete:

I cringed away from the man, from the way he looked at me- now patiently, as if encouraging a slow learner; now furiously; now with a pregnant, vespertine calm.

At this point, what do you think “vespertine” means?  Guess, if you must.

Here is the info from Webster’s:

vespertine \’ves-pər-tīn\ adj, from the Latin vesperinus, from vesper, meaning evening; of, relating to, or occurring in the evening; (biology) feeding, flying, or blossoming in the evening

Aha!  The good Catholic in me should have recognized “vespers”, or evening prayers.  (Vesper is also the name of the Bond girl in Casino Royale, but I digress…)  However, what does “evening” have to do with the crazy man looking at Sarah?  This sentence comes from a scene that occurs at sunrise!

Perhaps I’m confused by the adjective “pregnant” next to vespertine.  Here, I think pregnant means “meaningful, momentous.”  Sarah suspects something is about to happen; she’s reading the man’s eyes very closely.  But how does that jive with “vespertine”?

Does anyone out there have some ideas?

Here’s a sentence I think more appropriate for the vocabulary:

I escaped out into the garden near sunset to capture the vespertine blooms of the evening primrose with my camera.

Word Nerd Workout:  Use vespertine in your own sentence.
Also, if you can enlighten me on a subtle meaning of vespertine, in the context I gave above, please leave your ideas in the comments.  Thanks!
Other Word Nerdy Words you may like:
winsome
ersatz
preternaturally

 

Julia