Looking Glass Playhouse's The Diary of Anne Frank

Discovering there was a community theater in Lebanon, Illinois, while driving home from work, I knew I wanted to view a performance.  Perusing the Looking Glass Playhouse's site, I saw The Diary of Anne Frank was showing in March.  Having recently watched a six-episode documentary on Auschwitz, I had to purchase tickets.

Recruiting my Hot Yoga/Yoga under the Arch buddy, Beth P. agreed to sit in the first row with me, front and center, for opening night, March 13, 2014.

Directed by Kathleen Dwyer and Rob Lippert, the utilization of the stage was mesmerizing- not a nook or cranny was wasted.  With different scenes highlighted through lighting, the audience was led through two tempestuous years of the life of a young girl.

Anne Frank, played by Diana Risse, Margot Frank played by Victoria Symonds, and Peter Van Daan played by Connor Sanders truly embraced the metamorphosis from innocent children to burdened young adults due to the horrors of warfare.

Close attention to detail was made by the costume designer, Cathy Symonds.  Characters initially dressed in white socks and kempt attire for Act I were found to be in holey socks and ragged sweaters for Act II showing the progression of time and the effects of lingering circumstances.

The visual impact of the final scene with all characters on stage standing at attention as excerpts of Anne Frank's diary projected across their bodies had quite the influence on the audience.  When lights were brought up again, there was brief hesitation as to whether the audience should clap or cry after such an absorbing orchestration.

My only complaint was the lack of biographies on the cast, staff, and directors in the program.  Overwhelmed by such a production, I wanted to learn more about those involved in The Diary of Anne Frank's fruition.

Future showings are March 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 2014.

Book Club Babes II

So, my oldest daughter and I were discussing the details of her second-grade book club.  My youngest, a kindergartner, was listening and started asking me questions about her sister's book club, "Are they all reading the same book?"  "What are they going to do?"  She then declared, "I want to do it, too!"  This did not come as a surprise as she loves books and is an aspiring author as our bookshelf is beginning to overflow with her and her sister's creations.  

Thus, the dawn of Book Club Babes II, a book club for kindergartners emerged.  My daughter's pick for the club is Greg Foley's Thank You Bear.

Visiting Foley's site above, I found complimentary stationary.  I think my youngest squirt will think this ideal for sending out invitations for our first meeting.

Book Club Babes Reader-Generated List to Date

Placing the book selection in the hands of the second-grade girl members of Book Club Babes, a wide range of genres has been selected thus far which thrills me as the facilitator.  Listed beside the title are brainstorming ideas to reinforce the readings.

Disney Frozen (123 pages), I'm thinking viewing party after discussion.  Oh yeah!

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab:  A Mystery with Electrogmagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself (240 pages), Experiments galore after discussion . . .

The Puppy Place:  Chewy and Chica (144 pages), Meet at the Glen Carbon Berry to read with the STARS with Dogs

Isabelle:  American Girl Today (128 pages), I know they offer American Girl workshops at the G.C. Berry.

Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim's Birthday (85 pages), An Unbirthday Partay

Book Club Babes Inaugural Outing

My oldest daughter loves to read, but it can be difficult transitioning from picture books to chapter books.  As a second-grader, she has taken the leap, but misses the beautifully illustrated pictures.  So, when my own (highly talented) recommender of books, Sarah B. told me her daughter Miss Ava stays up until 11 p.m. at night sneaking reads under the covers due to the series, Origami Yoda,  I was more than sold.  Since her daughter had completed the series, we were allowed to borrow Fortune Wookie for a trial run.  Not only do the drawings in the margins ease the transition from picture books, but the origami "how to" directions for the various characters beyond a doubt "sealed the deal" for my lover of crafts daughter.

Sarah B. then discovered a workshop offered at the Edwardsville Public Library which covered the Origami Yoda series.  Yeah, Baby!  Sarah B. convinced the librarian to register our second-grade girls as the program was intended for third-fifth graders only.  I then forwarded the message to my Book Club Babes (Second Grade Book Club Members) and had one taker, Miss Emma.  Excitement ensued as well as more deliberate reading as the day of the workshop approached.  Yes!  A literacy advocate's dream . . .

Waiting for the Doors to Open to the Origami Yoda Workshop

Arriving at the library early, we waited patiently for the doors to the workshop room to open with Miss Ava's little brother Mr. Jakey.  Upon opening of the doors, not one of the three girls bothered to look back.  So, I settled in a corner chair and read while intermittently peeking in through the window at their progress.

Origami Yoda Workshop

After a while small groups exited the room at staggered starts pursuing their mission of a scavenger hunt.  Fortunate enough to view this from my chair in the corner, I could witness their excitement and collaborative learning firsthand.

Uncovering Clues on the Scavenger Hunt

After an hour of focused learning disguised as fun, they all pleaded starvation.  So, we took the short walk from the Edwardsville Public Library to Dewey's Pizzeria.  Hastily ordering, they wanted to watch the pizza makers behind the window.  Thus, I had a leisurely dinner by myself as they took quick bites and then returned to the viewing window where they snapped some photos with my phone.

  

Utterly  thrilled by the sneak peek reading at the library of chapter one of Princess Labelmaker, we skipped dessert in search of the newly released book of the Origami Yoda series at Books-A-Million.  An added bonus came as we were loading ourselves into the car.  Parked next to us was a woman reading, so I was able to snap her picture for my book blog.  Score!  

These second-graders' love of reading is certainly contagious, "Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is" (Yoda, Attack of the Clones), so I am definitely looking forward to our next Book Club Babes outing.

Susan Abar's Against All Odds

Our life as mortals is but a breath in

length.  We are no different than the

flowers- beautiful and delicate, sturdy

and hearty- dropping petals one

by one, until the last breeze, the last

breath, takes away the last petal, and 

we return to dust.

-Susan Abar

April 23, 2007

Since we were iced in yesterday, I thought it would be the ideal time to read Susan Abar's Against All Odds:  Two Pennies, A Rainbow and A Woman Called Mercy, a gift from woman blessing Carol Cottingham.  Not knowing what the book was about, I was intrigued with not only the subtitle but the penny glued into place on the title page.
Reading further, I discovered the author has met more than her fair share of adversities in her adult life beginning with the loss of her job, which, in turn, was followed by a breast cancer diagnosis.  Written from the heart, the author accurately states what the loss of her breasts represented:
 
My eyes tracked the still-healing horizontal scars that crossed my chest like two six-inch dashes marking the place where my breasts had been . . . breasts that once nourished my babies . . . breasts that once defined me as a woman.  (19)

For me personally as a reader, I connected not only with her thoughts, but in the fact we had identical breast cancer diagnoses, estrogen positive inductile carcinoma, which had both been initially misdiagnosed as cysts.

The only problem I had were the wrong words used in the text such as, "As the months past"  (47) and "the write decision"  (29).
 
Without giving too much away, her cancer diagnosis did not end with her breasts.  So, Against All Odds is not only a telling of a miraculous medical journey, but, more importantly, a journey of Abar's faith resuscitated through the discovery of two pennies.  

Anderson Harp's Retribution Book Club

Alpha males anyone?  If this question interests you in the slightest, then Anderson Harp's Retribution is the novel for you.  Protagonist Will Parker, a retired district attorney, takes the occasional deep undercover mission to relieve himself of his predictable life far in the woods and to fuel his adrenaline addiction.  This particular secret operation finds Parker fighting for his life in the mountainous border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If a fan of visual imagery in writing, look no further:

A man from the village representing the elders went there the following morning and found the walls covered in sprays of blood- the floors as well.  He stepped into a puddle of black, congealed blood, which stuck to his shoes like molasses.  Flies swarmed around the room, occasionally landing on his cheek, even as he brushed them aside.  The bodies had been pummeled by bricks found nearby, covered in the same sticky blood.  (86-7)

Written in a third-person narrative, the political commentary sprinkled throughout is unwavering:  

The Americans have a better chance of breathing life back into those two dead bodies, Yousef thought, than of changing these people [of Pakistan].  (87)

Tears welled in the corners of my eyes as the English teacher within embraced antagonist's Robert Trantham's approach of reading in reverse, "The old editorial trick caused one to see things in a different light.  Misspelled words stood out if you read a paragraph backward"  (384).

For the purposes of book club, one may serve "cold kupus and grah"  (111) or Dom Perignon and chilled caviar as served in first class on Qatar Air.  Personally, I would definitely avoid the chewing gum Parker favored, and instead, opt for the "tea and sweet biscuits"  (44).

Nothing Personal Book Club

Do not let the title of Mike Offit's Nothing Personal:  A Novel of Wall Street scare you off if you are not a fan of numbers, trading, and most importantly, Wall Street.  Offit is able to break down junk bonds, prepayments, and mortgage-backed securities in such a manner even I understood what was being discussed and wholeheartedly continued to turn the pages.

Hooked on page three by the characterization of a microeconomics professor teaching at Columbia Business School, I liked the subtle humor and accuracy in Offit's writing:

. . . Corelli rarely tried to enliven the material, having long before decided that, even in so inexact a discipline as his, he would grade generously those who simply recited his lectures on all exams without thinking or dissension.  This practice would, he reasoned, prepare them well for life in most of corporate America. 

Furthermore, Offit's descriptions of Pebble Beach brought to mind my friend Denta's love of the Monterey Bay area:

The verdant green of the grass, deep blue sky, and boiling ocean water combine with the misty sea spray, salt-infused air, sunshine, and puffy clouds to make a tableau so rich and inspiring that a well-struck shot reverberates with the harmony of something divine.  (200)

The protagonist, Warren Hament, an up-and-coming salesman on Wall Street who finds himself entangled in a murder mystery is certainly likeable and has quite a way with the ladies.  Va va va and voom!

For me, the problem of Nothing Personal lies in the numerous mispellings throughout this novel [i.e. anecdotess (104), omlet (152), and drive (302) instead of driven] and awkard wordings "Just as long as are not connected . . ." (319) which detracts from the reading.

For the purposes of book club, crabmeat salad would be a welcome choice as it was Hament's choice when schmoozing for the first time with an MD (managing director) from Weldon Corporate Finance after a game of squash.