It’s Black Friday here at the Deconstruction, barely 6 a.m., and no surprise, I can’t sleep. No, I didn’t drop the Thanksgiving turkey or burn the sweet potatoes or forget to put the carcass in the fridge after the late-night sandwiches. No, I didn’t drink too much or make any embarrassing holiday toasts. And no, I’m not lamenting the return to business as usual after I drop my parents off at the Charlotte airport later today. In fact, while I’m not looking forward to writing any more web copy for a product that shall here remain nameless, I kind of need the money. Indeed, how else will I finance the new doorbuster?

No, best as I can figure it, I’m up because a new Fable hit the street the day before yesterday while I was showing my parents the new bathroom, which they paid for last year but hadn’t seen until this week. They were thrilled by the vanity and delighted with the tile work, so you know, but none of that does my readers any good when they sit down on the pot.

Anyway, you can read the November installment over at Free Times. While you’re there, you can also leave a comment for the editors, email the column to your mother-in-law, print a copy to stick on your fridge or click around looking for evidence of my floundering career as a freelancer. Indeed, do whatever you like over there—just don’t try to come back using the link at the bottom, which points to a site called reconstructionfables not deconstructionfables and which, should you click it, will launch you unceremoniously into my subconscious.

What can I say? The webmaster hates me.

It is fitting, though—this typographical mistake. I won’t call it irony, but there is something, well, apropos about the mix-up. See, the new Fable is about both putting things up and taking things down, i.e. reconstructing and deconstructing, in this case the sort of Frostian fence at the back of my property. The new column is also about throwing garbage into the neighbor’s yard then pretending you don’t know where the property line ends, but that’s more than I should go into here, especially considering the restraining order. You’re better off just reading the column.

~

PS: Speaking of Thanksgiving, if you didn’t get enough to eat yesterday, or your holiday bird somehow didn’t turn out like you’d hoped it would and you want to avoid a repeat disaster come Christmas, check out the latest post from the crack research team over at Very Little Known Facts. Let me tell you, those guy can talk turkey.

"La zorra y el cuervo gritón", Fábula de Esopo

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¡¡Nuevo!!! New!!

(Para niños y estudiantes de Español) Compruebe su nivel de comprensión de la historia! (For children and Spanish Learners)Check your comprehension by doing the "build the story" exercise!
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Ahora encontrará ejercicios interactivos en línea para comprobar su nivel de comprensión. “Build the story”, construya la historia y compruebe su nivel de aciertos!
Index_Online Quizzes_Aesop’s Fables (Indice de los ejercicios interactivos de las Fábulas de Esopo) : http://albalearning.com/ejercicios/fab

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Ahora usted puede aprender Francés, Español e Inglés haciendo ejercicios interactivos en línea con vocabulario y sonido. Es gratis. C’est gratuit.
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Many many years ago, I discovered Might magazine.  It was a funny, silly magazine that spoofed everything (but had a serious backbone, too).  (You can order back issues here).  And so, I subscribed around issue 13.  When the magazine folded (with issue 16–and you can read a little bit about that in the intro to Shiny Adidas Track Suits) it somehow morphed into McSweeney’s, and much of the creative team behind Might went with them.

The early volumes (1-5 are reviewed in these pages, and the rest will come one of these days) are a more literary enterprise than Might was.  There’s still a lot of the same humor (and a lot of silliness), but there are also lengthy non-fiction pieces.  The big difference is that McSweeney’s was bound as a softcover book rather than as a magazine. And, I guess technically it is called Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern as opposed to Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

Issue #6 came with a CD of music by They Might Be Giants.  And from then on it was anybody’s guess what the next issue would look like.  (This Wikipedia page provides a nice summary of all of the issues that have been published, including authors).

The latest issue (#33) is being printed as a newspaper (just to give an idea of the diversity of product here).

The books (for most of them are books, despite the above newspaper) come out occasionally.  I gather it was supposed to be a quarterly, but I don’t know that they’ve ever really kept a schedule. Many of the books are hardcover (beautifully bound).  Some have been paperbacks.  Occasionally they come in a fancy packaging (boxes, slipcases etc). You never know what you’re going to get, which is a lot of the fun.

Although you do know that you’re going to get quality short stories.  The list of fantastic (and well-known) authors grows and grows. (Just a few: Michael Chabon, Stephen King, David Foster Wallace, George Saunders, Roddy Doyle, A.M. Homes, and Joyce Carol Oates.)  And mixed in with them are less well known (ie. more indie) authors, as well as occasional unknowns.  And even if I don’t love every story, I know that they’ll all be worth a read.

McSweeney’s itself has grown from a publisher of this quarterly to include an empire that publishes books (their book of the month club is the way to go), an official periodical (The Believer), and a video magazine (Wholphin).

I am probably a little too steeped in McSweeney’s-world, but I’ve never been disappointed with a release of theirs (okay, that’s not true, they have published a few clunkers).  I’m always excited to get the box with the little chair as the return address.

And, of course, I began a Wikipedia page of all of the McSweeney’s Books. I’m delighted to see that folks have been adding to it!

Original mention in Periodicals Page:

McSweeney’s. Technically a periodical. A collection of short stories and things like it. I’m usually too overwhelmed by the time this comes in, and frankly, I am many many issues behind on reading this. However, I plowed through 21 and 22 recently, and just got 23. So, I’m looking forward to it and its brethren. I got turned onto McSweeney’s because I used to subscribe to MIGHT magazine (R.I.P) which was a hilarious magazine ala Spy (R.I.P). Might ran for a dozen or so issues and then strangely morphed into McSweeney’s. I think somehow my subscription ran over into McSweeney’s and the rest is 23 issues of fun!

“Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught in the net… But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free themselves from it…But not all the fish that struggle succeed. Then the fishermen shout, ‘Look! There goes a big one!’ But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with the net in their mouths and lie there quietly, thinking, ‘We need not fear any more; we are quite safe here.’ But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net.”

(image from Bibletastic)

51) Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
52) and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53) and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
~ Matthew 27:51-53 (KJV)

This would make a good science fiction-horror movie if Steven Spielberg or James Cameron were ever to produce it. I’ve always been of fan of zombie movies. Many people claim this fictional event actually happened even though the other Gospels fail to mention it.

(Warning: This turned out to be a super long post but I hope its super helpful, insha Allah)

***********

I’ve got an 11 year old who is not yet a very fluent reader.  So I am trying to step up his program because not being fluent effects his ability to do other work.  I have a seven year old, and a recently turned eight year old, who both can do some/all work independently because they are fluent readers, masha Allah. So getting him up to “speed” is a high priority, insha Allah.

I’ve been trying different things and but honestly haven’t been consistent. I wanted to go back to level one with my straight phonics program (homemade), but in it, I just make up sentences that fit the phonetic concept being studied (or contains review sounds) and so the reading is a little too childish for him.

Then I tried nursery rhymes as they are great for teaching phonics concepts, but again, they are super short and I wanted to engage him more.

So, now I am trying fables. Now, mind you, for years I stayed away from fiction in our early home school days (there is a fatwa on fiction I have read, I don’t have it handy, but will try to locate it (any of you have this handy????). In essence, what I get from it is that it says that it is a waste of time to read fiction if there is no benefit in it…(I am paraphrasing so please read fatawa on this for yourself as maybe my interpretation is incorrect). At any rate, I have migrated back towards using fiction as a teaching tool. I have discussed with my children, in the past, this view that fiction is a waste of time, but have told them that I personally see a benefit in it for educational purposes. So that is my take on it, but please refer to the fatwa yourself and scholars for a correct interpretation. I do not want to mislead anyone with my paraphrasing.

However, if you believe that fiction can be beneficial for educational purposes, then read on as I have found ways to get benefit from it and I hope that there is more benefit than harm in it and Allah knows best.

So Why Fables?

I have to admit, I love reading and teaching with fables; they are short and have morals. So, they provide (for me) excellent reading material as well as character education (and of course, we islamicize the morals as well). 

So I wanted to share

a little lesson plan for a fable to give an example of how you can teach remedial (or otherwise) reading with fables.

Pick out spelling words from the fable

So we are on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”  The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I took, I think, all of the fables on that site and printed them out, one per page to make it easy to use them (usually we read a lot of stuff straight off the computer).   My plan is to spend one week on a fable. I don’t attempt to have him know how to spell every word because that would take more than one week, lol,  and I have him do repeated readings daily, insha Allah, so I think he would get tired of the same fable for more than one week. So we take out what we can and move on, insha Allah.

So my first list (from the link above) has the words: there, would, once, who, from, about, what, come and was. I put these words into a Spelling City list. So, I gave him a pretest yesterday on the words (from me, not Spelling City) to see what he knew (he got them all wrong). So today, insha Allah, he works on the Spelling City list with the Teach Me feature.  I like this because they say the word, spell it one letter at a time, give it in a sentence and say it again.  So on my lesson plan (I’ve written it in his assignment book), he is to do the teach me feature twice today.

At some point, later on in the day, insha Allah, I’ll quiz him myself (or  have one of the big ‘uns—but  have to be careful here with who I choose because he is super sensitive, so picking the wrong person could result in a brawl….so maybe I better do it, lol).

Backing up to my pretest yesterday, after he took the pretest, I had him write the words 10x each. Ok, I use this technique with all my spellers, but frankly, that alone does not help all of them remember the spellings. So after this, I made up little sentence frames for him.  The big idea is that I provide a sentence frame for him, featuring the misspelled words. The frames have blanks for him to fill in. (spelling words are bold)

Example. There was a __________________________ in the __________________.

So what he does is write 10 sentences filling in the blanks.  He LOVED this activity! I gave him just a few and he wanted to do more. I guess it was fun  to think of things to fill in the blanks (as well as to not have to just think up sentences on  his own). This activity provides for lots of repetition of the words in context, which I have read is important in spelling.

A few other example frames I made:

Was there a __________________ on the _____________________?

Who ________________ the ___________________?

I would like some __________________________________.

Come to the ___________________.

What did _______________________ say?

I just gave him two sentences initially and he asked for more, lol. Hope the enthusiasm stays, insha Allah.

 

After we do the sight words, I will decide whether or not we’ll pick out phonics based spelling words. We may just stick with this list for the week, which is probably a good idea. Again, trying to get too much out can probably be draining on him.

Reading Practice

So I have him read the fable a few times daily or maybe the first paragraph several times. This is called “repeated reading” if you are not familiar with this technique.  You can read the selection (it’s suggested for repeated reading to pick like a paragraph or part about 100 words for younger kids).  Basically you model it first, by reading it (so they can hear your inflections, pauses, etc). Then you have them read it several times, daily.

In this part of a session, we would talk about some components of the writing such as what a paragraph is, who Aesop, the writer is, what a fable is, etc.

Grammar

For grammar, I have him pick out all the nouns (you could do adjectives or any other part of speech that has been taught or you can introduce a grammar concept through this).  Well, maybe not all the nouns, but say in the first few paragraphs, it just depends on his attention span.  This is great because it forces him to read again and more carefully. 

Then, I have him make all the nouns plural (first reviewing plural rules).  Then I have him do a quick exercise in alphabetical order by putting the words in the title in order.  On subsequent days, he could put the words in a short sentence in alphabetical order. Other things you can do is teach/review synonyms, for example.  You can just use a grammar book outline to help you get grammar topics (just look and see if those concepts occur in your fable) or just pick them from the fable, because sometimes in using passages for teaching, there are just ones that seem to stand out from time to time (like maybe one rich with adjectives, for example).

Listening

On the first day of a fable, to provide listening practice, the fable can just be read to introduce it. You can discuss its moral, etc.  On subsequent days, after much repeated reading has been done, you can read sentences, leaving out words and then have them fill in the word orally.

Copywork

Since my guy doesn’t do a lot of composition at this point (for right now, I think the sentence frames will be fine for us), I just have him copy a short paragraph as he is not so used to the physical action of writing so much. I have just kind of let him slide  by as its hard to get him to sit down for lessons, so he’s kind of been more on an unschooling program for most of his days. But again, I am trying to change that, insha Allah. He’s very mechanically inclined and loves to tinker with stuff, but just doesn’t like sitting for lessons.  I hope to tap more into his interests and maybe give him opportunities to write about his creations. 

***************

So these are just examples of what you can do with fables or nursery rhymes or passages.  If I keep up with our fables, insha Allah, I’ll will try to post multi-day lesson plans for the fables that we cover……

Have you ever used fables for teaching reading?

What types of techniques do you try for remedial reading?

Photo credit: Library.ThinkQuest.org

by Aesop

A Lion had come to the end of his days and lay sick unto death at the mouth of his cave, gasping for breath. The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him on the point of death they thought to themselves: ‘Now is the time to pay off old grudges.’ So the Boar came up and drove at him with his tusks; then a Bull gored him with his horns; still the Lion lay helpless before them: so the Ass, feeling quite safe from danger, came up, and turning his tail to the Lion kicked up his heels into his face. ‘This is a double death,’ growled the Lion.

Download Aesop’s Fables

89 pages, 349 Kb (PDF)

I didn’t plan this, it just worked out this way. This week’s pull is surprisingly fluffy – at least on the surface.** Oh sure, some of this week’s titles are squishy all the way through, but don’t be too quick to write them off. Cute isn’t always cuddly.

The Marvelous Land of Oz #1 of 8 ($3.99 shelf grab) – This is a sequel of sorts; earlier this year Marvel put out a Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, but I only glanced at it. This one’s based on the ACTUAL sequel to the Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum (there’s something like 15 books in the series, every one of which I read as a kid). If you’re a fan, it’s a no-brainer. For the rest, it’s a pretty nifty fantasy story in a a richly developed world. And take a look at the art! Scottie Young has a terrific, loose-but-detailed style, and the colors have an almost watercolor-like feel. It’s like reading the most lavishly illustrated children’s book ever. Nothing wrong with that.

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #1 of 6 ($2.99 shelf grab): It’s about damn time. Cindy is one of my favorite Fables characters (along with the Tourists and Boy Blue), but you never see enough of her. To the unknowing, she’s a ditzy shoe shop owner who spends money like water; on the job, she’s Fabletown’s #1 undercover agent. Just what the job entails is the subject of this issue, which starts with our heroine wrapping up a mission in blockbuster fashion. It’s a little by-the-numbers spy genre, but every story has to start somewhere. What’s great about Fables at its best is the way it takes a well-known story (e.g., Snow White) and gives it new depth while staying true to the original. If Cinderella can do that, it should be a fun ride.

Archie #602 ($2.50 shelf grab) – Yes, Archie. I am reading Archie comics. But there’s a good reason for it! The big issue #600 kicked off a six-issue arc where Archie gets married; as a patriotic American, you have a duty to find out what happens. It’s also the only time I’ve ever actually seen an Archie comic, well, in a comic shop – usually they live on those grocery store spinners alongside forlorn two-month-old X-titles.

Eyes = right. Face = right. Eyes + Face = Not right.

If you haven’t been following, this series was plugged as “Archie marries Veronica!” It turns out that’s a bit of a ruse. In the first issue, Herr Andrews finds himself at the crossroads of Memory Lane; instead of going back, though, he chooses to go forward to find out what might be. The first road leads him to life with Veronica. Shockingly, it turns out great (aside from some brief sobbing from scorned blonde Betty, who winds up the maid of honor). Mr. Lodge gives him a job, they have kids, everything’s fantastic.

At the end of this issue, Archie heads out for a Christmas evening walk, which takes him back to Memory Lane, which means next issue … Archie marries Betty! (it also means Archie walked out on his wife and twin children for another woman! On Christmas Eve!) So yeah, it’s canonical fan fiction, but it’s still kind of a ballsy move. As always, Archie art is both unsurprisingly consistent and kind of freaky – I don’t know why the post-DeCarlo artists can’t solidly stick the characters’ eyes in the same place, instead leaving their expressions drift all around their faces. But I am halfway through my contractual obligation to read this, and it’s not terrible. Seriously, though, choosing Veronica over Betty?

Beasts of Burden #2 ($2.99 shelf grab): It’s a comic about puppies! Well, yeah, but don’t bring this home for the kids. I found Beasts of Burden #1 last month and liked it pretty well as a stand-alone about pets with some magicky stuff thrown in (also a giant exploding frog). But this one changes the game. What starts as a story about pets defending their neighborhood first turns into a ghost story and then becomes … something darker, and a lot less fantastical.

If this issue is an indicator of the writers’ sensibilities, Beasts of Burden is going to be a deceptively adult title. This is a turn I’ve noticed in a few titles recently: Mouse Guard is a great example, and the new Stuff of Legend has shown promise as well. What sets Beasts apart for me, though, is how it goes beyond the story’s fantasy elements for its drama. Without spoiling anything, the story reminds us that some of the worst monsters are very real.

**Okay, so I left out a few titles for the sake of a more coherent theme. I’ll get to Invincible next week, I promise.

Action Comics #883

Chris and Thara continue to hunt Zod’s sleeper agents.  Chris spontanteously grows old.  In the backup story, Captain Atom arrives back in the real world and is immediately attacked.  Mon-El comes to the rescue.  Not a bad issue, although kind of slow.  I don’t know, it just feels like it’s hard to care about these characters.

Batgirl #4

Stephanie’s first run through with the new suit has her facing off against Livewire as Barbara tries to help Wendy deal with her anger.  Easily one of the best series to come out of Battle for the Cowl, this is just an enjoyable read.  I would say this could be the best series to come out of Battle for the Cowl.

Batman #693

The second part of the Tony Daniels written story where the mob is starting to move back into Gotham.  With Dick working as Batman, he teams up with Huntress to keep an eye on Falcone and keep things from falling apart.  I think Daniels has a very solid grasp of this and is doing something good here.

Batman and Robin #6

Jason Todd is attacked by the Flamingo as he leaves Batman and Robin to be unmasked once one million people go to the website to activate a webcam.  They escape, just in time to save Jason and Scarlett from the Flamingo.  Robin gets shot, Jason arrested, Flamingo is apparently killed, and Scarlett just runs off–apparently losing the face that Professor Pyg forced onto her face.  I’ll be honest, this has been a weird story so far.  I like the angle with Jason where he’s primarily dealing with the fact Bruce wanted him to be another Dick Grayson.  It’s a pretty obvious point, but I think an explicit statement worked nicely.  The story itself was kind of screwy though.  Can’t really explain what it was about it.  I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right.

Booster Gold #26

Well, once Blackest Night Started, we knew this one was coming.  Black Lantern Ted Kord.  Features Jamie Reyes in a story where Booster’s disappeared to go back in time to Ted’s funeral.  Back in the present, Skeets is looking for Booster, eventually picking up the current Blue Beetle who decides to help.  Then they get attacked by Black Lantern Ted Kord.  This is going to be a part of Blackest Night I’m going to watch closely, as I think it’s going to be a good angle.

Cable #20

So Bishop and Cable are duking it out as Hope tries to figure out a way to escape from the Brood.  Solid issue, this leading into what will be Hope’s big story in the near future.  Really want to see where it goes, what impact she has on the X-Men.

Dark X-Men #1

So Mystique is leading a team of Dark Beast, Mimic, and Omega.  And Mystique looks like Jean Grey.  They are sent on a goodwill mission by Osborne, and things go crazy from there.  Only the first issue so I’ll wait to see what happens next, but I’ll admit this didn’t get me terribly excited.  Girl Called Hope backup feature where Cable is training her.  These short segments are kind of hard to judge, but it looks interesting so far.

Deadpool #17

Domino is afraid of chickens.  That’s about all I have to say about this.  Entertaining issue.  About what you’d expect for Deadpool.

Fables #90

Frou Totenkinder is gone, so Ozma is now the big magic user in Fabletown.  Still trapped with Baba Yaga in the offices, Bufkin and his small group of fighters continue to fight and torment her.  Fables is doing good stuff.

Green Lantern Corps #42

Fighting the Black Lanterns, the Green Lanterns pull out all the stops.  Kyle and Guy release the Red Lantern Vice on them, which works briefly before they get overwhelmed again.  When the Black Lanterns overwhelm an Alpha Lantern, Kyle grabs the battery and detonates it, killing himself and the Black Lanterns.  This was a particularly sad moment for me, as I read Green Lantern when I was younger and Kyle was the Lantern then.  It was just a sad moment.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10

Blackest Night tie-in here.  Basically everybody is gunning for Vril Dox.  And he gets a yellow power ring.  Last page was amazing.

Red Robin #6

Set after the Blackest Night: Batman mini, Tim is helping Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows take down this second group of assassins.  Not a bad issue, as Tim starts to see the conflicts of the path he’s chosen.

Date: November 23, 2009
Venue: Green Room, School of Design and Arts campus,
College of St. Benilde
Time: 10AM – 12NN (with book signing)

For those not part of the College of Saint Benilde you can register for the talk here: marketing[at]fullybookedonline[dot]com.
to reserve a slot. RSVP by November 18.

James Jean is best known for his work on the covers of the Fables series.

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

I don’t read many comics or graphic novels, but this one was a blast. It takes place after “happily ever after.” The famous folks of legends and fairy tales are living in exile in New York after being forced from their lands by and evil creature, the Adversary. The characters who can disguise themselves as normal mundane humans live in an exclusive apartment building; the ones who can’t live on a farm in upstate. The trouble starts when Jack, of beanstalk fame, reports a crime. Rose Red is missing and probably dead, judging from the blood in her apartment. Snow White, the deputy mayor, and Bigby Wolf, the detective formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, need to get to the bottom of the mystery.

This was a fun read. We meet lots of familiar characters, but each is now dealing with real-world problems. Jack needs money; Prince Charming is a cad; Snow White is a work-a-holic; the Beast is having a little trouble passing as human. The dialogue is funny and full of one-liners, the art is well-done, with a few little details that add to the enjoyment.

The mystery isn’t that suspenseful. The conclusion is fairly obvious, but I do love how Wolf presents the solution.

Anyone who’s ever fancied himself a detective, openly or secretly, longs for the day he can do the famous parlor room scene. It’s the moment when I get to reveal who did what, how they did it–and most important–how I figured it all out. (pg 99)

The story is about the characters, the setting, the dialogue, not necessarily the plot itself. I will definitely be reading more volumes of Fables.

Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham collaborate (with the rest of the Fables comics illustrating team) in this 2007-2008 story of how Flycatcher, the Frog Prince, tries to redeem meaning into the murder of his family. You can buy or borrow the collection of 10 issues (60-69) bound together as The Good Prince (2008). The tale of the Frog Prince turning into the King of Haven is a wonderful story of sacrifice, redemption and love with beautiful illustrations and interesting twists.
For those who don’t have any experience with Fables,
it is a comic book series by Bill Willingham that brings many fables (like Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Hansel and Gretel, Little Boy Blue, the Frog Prince, etc) to life in our world and time in alternative and unexpected ways.
This particular book is a good second book to introduce you to Willingham’s world. I’d say the first ‘book’ would be the excellent 1001 Nights of Snowfall which introduces many of the main characters and the idea using Scheherazade’s story as a vehicle.
I enjoy all the Fables and recommend them highly if you enjoy good, adult graphic novels.

The marching band is coming onto the field, the coach is giving the Justice League a much-needed pep talk, and the fans have gone to pee. That’s right, it’s the Blackest Night Halftime Show! With the fourth issue of the eight-part epic on the stands, this week Blake and Kenny sit down to talk about the story so far, the various tie-ins, and make their predictions for the second half of DC’s best event in years. In the picks this week, Kenny goes with Vampire Hunter D: Stuff of Dreams and Blake digs the new Fables spin-off miniseries, Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@Comixtreme.com!

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 145: Blackest Night Halftime Show
Inside This Episode:

by Bill Willingham (writer), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Steve Leialoha & Andrew Pepoy (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Todd Klein (letters

The Story: Bufkin continues to wage his guerrilla war against Baba Yaga while back home, Ozma makes her move.

What’s Good: As has been the case with this entire arc, Bufkin’s portions are undoubtedly the strongest and most enjoyable of this issue.  The little guy versus big guy dynamic that has fuelled much of Fables’ appeal since its inception continues to be an infectious one.  What we get this month borders on slapstick, with Bufkin springing or working on a couple of traps.  This gives his scenes a really fun, “Home Alone” feel, as the unwitting Baba Yaga falls prey to Bufkin’s cunning.  Indeed, the spirit of last month’s awesome last scene is sustained and amplified as the flying monkey becomes an increasingly legitimate force while the innocence that has made him a fan favourite far is still maintained.

Bufkin is not the only source of comedy however, as King Cole also shows his lovable side.  His happy avarice and general love is all good fun and a self-aware bright spot in a storyline and status quo that has at times been pretty damned dark.  It’s nice to see something go right for the Fables for once.

Speaking of dark, it’s great to see that not only has Willingham not forgotten about Gepetto, but that the writer also seemingly has big plans in store for the character.  Though it’s only a page, this may be the most intriguing moment of the book.   It’s testament to Willingham’s abilities that a character who’s been all but forgotten for so many issues can still carry such magnetism and importance when he does show up.

Finally, while it was inevitable, the ending of this month’s issue is all kinds of awesome, featuring a familiar addition to the cast who is a certifiable badass.

Meanwhile, Mark Buckingham once again brings the artwork you’ve come to expect of him, both distinct and detailed.  Outside of one admittedly off headshot of Bigby, Buckingham remains incredibly consistent.  His Baba Yaga remains awesome as ever.

What’s Not So Good: The scenes involving Ozma’s attempts to wrest control of the 13^th floor felt overly long and somewhat overwritten.  It simply felt as though there were too many words spent on reaching a fairly basic and logical endpoint, with none of it feeling particularly interesting or shocking.  It’s a shame, as the rest of the book is really quite a lot of fun save for this extended dry spot.  While it’s good to see the other magicians get a few lines for once, it doesn’t change the fact that things were a bit drawn out.

Conclusion: A really solid issue of Fables that does little wrong, as it sticks to the formula that’s made the series a success.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Posted by Audiegrl

“There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there…”~~Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist

NASA—Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won’t be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we’re frequently asked regarding 2012.

Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 — hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then — just as your calendar begins again on January 1 — another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

Q: Could a phenomena occur where planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.

Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.

Q: What is the polar shift theory? Is it true that the earth’s crust does a 180-degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours?
A: A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. There are slow movements of the continents (for example Antarctica was near the equator hundreds of millions of years ago), but that is irrelevant to claims of reversal of the rotational poles. However, many of the disaster websites pull a bait-and-shift to fool people. They claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity of Earth, which does change irregularly, with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. As far as we know, such a magnetic reversal doesn’t cause any harm to life on Earth. A magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia, anyway.

Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?
A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA NEO Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.

Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of pending doomsday?
A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.

Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?
A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.

Addition information concerning 2012

NASA Astrobiology Institute: “Nibiru and Doomsday 2012“

Bad Astronomy: “The Planet X Saga: The Scientific Arguments in a Nutshell“

Sky and Telescope Magazine: “2012: The Great Scare“

Dan Brown’s New Book, 2012 – Are You Ready for the Consciousness Shift?

The 2012 Phenomenon Plus 10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Why the World Will NOT End in 2012: NASA Scientist Debunks Conspiracy Theories

Homeschoolshare.com have a marvelous selection of free downloads! We downloaded Aesop’s Fables Lapbook and have thoroughly enjoyed making this lapbook!

Research and writing

Narrating & playing with character puppets

Some tips:

• We left all Sonlight’s suggested weekly Aesop readings schedule for the year and covered the entire book as a project over a few weeks.
• Do all the Aesop reading while they colour in or cut out, then do the written work and research.
• Read some of the lesser-known Aesop stories of the same animals while they cut and paste.  This way they get a full picture of the animal’s characteristics.
• Print on cardstock if possible.  I printed ours on paper and we reinforced the tab pulls by pasting another paper on the backs.  (I printed on paper for cost savings, to make cutting easier for little hands and to lessen the bulk of the final lapbook.)
• Homeschoolshare has a lovely slide show showing how they created the lapbook for their 3 ring file.  We plan to bind ours in a folder.

Download yours and enjoy!

With all due respect to The Office and How I Met Your Mother, I think I’ve realized that The Big Bang Theory is the funniest show on TV. This week I tell you why. Also, my pick of the week — Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #1.

Everything But Imaginary #328: Kicking Off With a Bang

11. In the Mouth

A fable that follows: The Higher the Horse

“You shouldn’t have got out that cider,” said the farmer’s wife. “That horse shouldn’t have drunk it,” the farmer answered. “You’ll regret selling her,” she said. That evening, a neighbor stopped by having a very long snout. (The fox meant to get rid of that horse.) “Hello, Farmer,” he said, “I’ll take that horse off your hands for six chickens!”

“You will not!” interrupted the farmer’s wife. “Sold!” insisted the farmer, and he gave the fox six chickens and the horse. “A bargain if there ever was one!” said the farmer. The fox was no fool, though. He sniffed at the horse’s mouth just to be sure she hadn’t been drinking that cider! All the while, that horse knew perfectly well it was the fox.

As soon as the fox climbed atop her she reared and ran round and around the barn. The fox let go of the chickens one by one. Then she ran faster and faster until the fox’s hat blew off, followed by his petticoat, his breaches and his socks until his bushy tail all but gave him away. The horse kicked and the fox tumbled into the air. The farmer’s wife smiled archly.

“Never look a miffed horse in the mouth!”