On the heels of earning an Oscar nom for co-writing "The Kids Are All Right," Lisa Cholodenko is in negotiations to direct a live-action adaptation of the children's picturebook "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" for 20th Century Fox. => http://bit.ly/lI7QCN
Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell have joined the cast of Phillip Noyce's "Dirt Music," based on Tim Winton's novel of the same name, international sales, financing and production label HanWay Films said Saturday. Set in North Western Australia, the movie adaptation of Winton's novel is set to begin shooting Down Under in August. http://bit.ly/iiWwXB
Set during the 1960s in America's racially divided Deep South, 'The Help' is a beautifully handled story of a white society girl, two black maids and a dangerous secret they share. Here’s a first look at the film trailer for ‘The Help' coming soon.
Kathryn Stockett's The Help is wonderful extension reading for students who love To Kill a Mockingbird and are interested in the American Civil Rights movement. The trailer for the movie has just been released
After 20 years, Tim Winton's classic WA novel Cloudstreet has finally made it to the screen.
But its creator, who has carved an international reputation in the years since the iconic WA novel hit the shelves, was for once left lost for words to mark the occasion. => http://bit.ly/emxsYv
More on Tim winton here => http://bit.ly/fwzmy3
Aaron Johnson and Jude Law are in talks to join Keira Knightley in Working Title's "Anna Karenina," which Joe Wright will direct.
Tom Stoppard penned the adaptation; Working Title's Tim Bevan is producing. http://bit.ly/eNdKLu
Rumors have been swirling all day, but we wanted to wait for the official word. Well, it’s here! Lionsgate has confirmed that Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence has signed on to play Katniss Everdeen in the much-anticipated big-screen adaptation of the bestselling trilogy from Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games.
In the past 30 years, this author has been involved in 3 successful start-up companies and each became a leader in its niche.
He says he went through many peaks, valleys and learned many lessons along the way. So, in writing You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School he distilled all he learned into 28 simple truths of leadership.
Enjoy this chapter titled: "If You Chase Two Rabbits, Both Will Escape."
An excerpt from
You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School
by Mac Anderson
At Successories in 1997, I learned about the power of focus the hard way. I didn't - and I paid the price. Golf was the hot sport because Tiger Woods had just come on the scene. We decided to purchase a small catalog company called British Links, a leader in golf art and golf gifts. The logic was simple:
1. We understood the specialty catalog business, and were already mailing 20 million catalogs a year.
2. We understood the wall décor/framing business. Successories had become one of the largest framers in the country and half of the British Links' sales were from framed wall décor.
I won't bore you with the details of why this venture flopped, but within three years we sold the golf company for next to nothing. However, the most devastating part of the deal was not the money we lost from the sale of British Links, but the momentum we had lost growing Successories, our core business.
In hindsight, I was an idiot! It was like Ray Kroc saying, after having opened twenty McDonald's, it's time to get into the pizza business. Many other businesses - like Starbucks and FedEx - focused their way to success. Repeat after me,LESS IS MORE,
LESS IS MORE...
You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School is loaded with stories that are shared in a brief, but engaging way. Because I truly believe that many times it's not what you say, but how you say it that turns the switch from "off" to "on."
For more information, to look inside this book or to view the 3 minute inspirational movie, just click here.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
~ Stieg Larsson
As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. ...Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned.
Buy the book here http://amzn.to/aqRErk
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo's debut novel wins a 2001 Newbery Honor and is a NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Bestseller!
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.
Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship--and forgiveness--can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
Recalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent.
An unforgettable first novel about coming of age one sweet summer--and learning to love what you have.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Webquest for Because of Winn-Dixie
Create printable tests and worksheets from Because of Winn-Dixie questions
Writing encouragement for students
Activity Guide from Walden Media
Information on topics related to the book
Character Education Lesson plan
Review and Discussion Questions
Buy the Book
(Publisher's Price is $15.99)
from Amazon for $5.99
or from me (for $6.05 - your choice will depend on your shipping price from Amazon probably) by clicking this button ...
Movie Trailer
