Friday, December 18, 2009

Schuyler's Monster

18 December 2009

A-ZWEDNESDAY.jpg (3783 bytes)Here's a book project I came across (and I'm always all about book projects!). It's officially called "A-Z Wednesday," but I think any day is a good day to review a book, so what the heck. If you want to participate, wait until next Wednesday and then do it!

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.

Post:
1) a photo of the book
2) title and synopsis
3) link (Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc.)
4) Go to Reading at the Beach and leave your link in the comments.

Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment. (We all love comments, don't we?) Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: S

schuyler.jpg (15945 bytes)

Schuyler's Monster
A Father's Jurney with his Wordless Daughter

Amazon Link (hard cover) * Barnes & Noble Link (soft cover)

What better book to pick for the letter "S." The review I posted in February, 2008, when the book came out reads:

A lot of people have been waiting for this book for a long time, and thank goodness it was well worth the wait. Many of us first encountered Schuyler either just before or shortly after her birth, through reading Rob's web site, then called "Darn Tootin'" (now called "My Beloved Monster and Me"). We watched as Rob and Julie struggled with growing awareness that Schuyler's slowness to talk was more than just slowness. We cried with them as they learned of her "monster," Congenital Bilateral Perisylvian Syndrome (CBPS), we cheered as Schuyler got and began to master her "big box o'words," a machine which gives her a voice, and surpassed all predictions for what she would be able to accomplish.

Now Rob has put the whole story in book form, a well-written saga which is as easy to follow as a novel, with (for those who are coming cold to Schuyler's story) all the elements of suspense that you would find in a mystery story. Through it all you watch two ordinary individuals interact with an extraordinary child and learn how the experience changes all of them.

No one looking at Schuyler can fail to fall in love with this beautiful little girl who prefers King Kong to Barbie, who loves dinosaurs and butterflies. It is unfortunate that we don't know how the story ends, as this is a work in progress. But the story thus far is a gripping one and I suspect we'll all be around for the sequel, whenever that comes.


Walt woke up to e-mail from his sister that their mother is back in the hospital with a fever and trouble breathing again. She is prone to pneumonia which, at 96 years of age, is always a concern. Please send all your prayers, vibes, good thoughts, and Christmas wishes toward Santa Barbara. We will be going there on the 23rd to spend Christmas with her and with the rest of the family. Jeri arrives in California tomorrow and will be with us as well.

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