The Reading Bug

The recent death of Miep Gies - the Dutch woman who helped to hide Anne Frank's family from the Nazis - has resulted in a great deal of press about Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. If you or your teen-aged child has read Anne Frank, then The Book Thief is a must read novel. Zusak tells the story of Liesel, a 13-year old living in Molching, Germany, the books she stole, the foster parents she loved, and the Jew they hid in their basement. This book, narrated by Death, tells a story of small, heroic acts of kindness and love in the midst of one of the darkest and most horrific periods of recent history. As Death notes at the end of his story, "I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race—that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

I mentioned to a friend that I don't believe this book should be categorized as a Young Adult novel. Although it is completely appropriate for YA readers, the classification might keep grown-ups (like me) from discovering this very special book. I highly recommend this NY Times bestseller for young adults and for grown-ups!

This book is a must read for anyone who is dealing with Alzheimer's in any way--whether you or your loved one or your best friend has received the diagnosis. Although the book is a novel, it is written by a woman who is a neuroscientist at Harvard who knows the disease so well that I frequently forgot that I wasn't reading about a real person. In the same way that Mat Haddon was able to get inside the head of an autistic boy in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Genova gets inside the head of Alice, a 50 year old professor of psychology at Harvard University who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The story that ensues follows the changes that Alice experiences over a three year period from her diagnosis.

Although we know the ending, and it is as sad as you would expect, the story provides the reader with real insight into what Alice is experiencing, emotionally and mentally, during this period, in addition to providing solid medical information about the disease itself. One of the insights I had in reading the book is that we as a society treat Alzheimer's patients differently from people diagnosed with physical ailments, such as cancer. Alice muses at one point that if she had cancer, her friends and her colleagues at Harvard would rush to provide support to her and to her family. As an Alzheimer's patient, however, they tend to avoid her. Of course, this only reinforces the isolation that she is already feeling as she is forced to give up her profession, her interests and her memories. If the book has a point of view, it is that, rather than avoiding people with Alzheimer's Disease, we need to treat the Alices of this world as "still Alice," because they are. This book would make a wonderful book group selection. Although this book was written by adults, it would also be a good book for middle schoolers or young adults who have a relative with Alzheimer's.

If your children like reading out loud to you
You can't find a book that tops Zorgamazoo.
This book's about feisty Katrina Katrell
A clever young girl, an adventurous belle.

One day while riding a subway train home,
Katrina spies something in the tunnel alone.
It's Morty the Zorgle, in that dark scary space,
With horns growing out from his whiskery face.
Turns out that the Zorgles have all disappeared
So Katrina joins Morty to search everywhere.
They search out in space and deep underground
But you must read the book to find out if they're found!

This is a book that will delight anyone who loves Dr. Seuss's wonderful rhymes and wishes that he had written longer books for older readers. It is a book to be shared, as it is almost impossible to read this book silently-it begs to be read out loud. It is a wonderful book for parents to read out loud - there are enough black and white illustrations to help keep a 4 or 5 year old interested. And it is a great book for advanced young readers or for middle readers who love rhymes, rhythm, fantasy. There are passages where you will laugh out loud at the descriptions of these wonderful characters and their adventures. If you buy this book, I recommend you follow the author's instructions on the first page:

"Before we begin you may want to arrange:
a blanket,
a cushion,
a comfortable seat,
and maybe some cocoa and something to eat."

Then sit back, relax, and have fun! (a read aloud for ages 4+, reading ability 8-12)