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Fairytale of the Month: The Little Mermaid

If you’ve wandered through the Children’s Book section of the BYU store lately, you’ve probably noticed that things have gotten a little “fishy” around here.  There are fish on the walls of the book nook, sea weed hanging from the ceiling, gigantic paper coral and a not-so-friendly looking red crab.  With all of the sea horses and adorable little fish, you may wonder what has gotten into the employees over here in Children’s Book.  We’re fine, doing great actually – just excited for our monthly event, “Fairytale of the Month!”

Several months ago, one of our employees had the idea to get children involved in a more personal way with some of the fairytale stories we often read and see depicted in movies and on TV.  Since then our “Fairytale of the Month” events have become an event that families and employees look forward to.  As employees in Children’s Book, we wanted to give the children a unique and more fantastic experience, so we turned our “Book Nook” into an underwater Mermaid Grotto, perfect to welcome our special guest, the Little Mermaid.  Dressed head to toe in her modest mermaid costume, our little mermaid told the children her story of love and adventure while they decorated paper fish to add to the walls of the grotto.  Intermingled with the storytelling, we conducted drawings to give away free flamingo and turtle stuffed animals.  Just to add to the fun, all of the mermaid books were sold with a discount of 25% to give our guests the chance to take the story home with them.

Overall this seemed to be a well-enjoyed event full of fairytales, fun and friendship.  We all enjoyed being a part of the action and watching people and fairytales come alive.  We’re looking forward to next month’s fairytale, Arabian Nights, and hope that you will join us for the fun!





Breaking Down Unbroken

True to the promise that I made to myself, I did not watch Unbroken until I had finished Lauren Hillenbrand's accounting of Louis Zamperini's near unfathomable tale of struggle and survival.

The Olympian/WWII veteran's biography has received substantial attention with the release of the major motion picture last December. The film received a substantial $115,637,895 domestically, but the book has performed better in reviews and has sold over 4 million copies as of June 2014.

The true story follows Louis' path from boyhood to manhood, including the transformation from  ruffian to Olympian, and goofy GI to emaciated POW. Hillenbrand tells of early life experiences, character traits, and specific events that mold Louis into the man capable of surviving the impossible. The tale of survival demonstrates the power of positive attitude, even in the most dire circumstances, the value of dignity to a human being, and forgiveness as a means to redemption. In this way, a man's heinous experience can be understood and associated with the everyday issues we all face in life.

Unbroken connects the reader with a real-life hero in Louis Zamperini. The man overcame some of the most cruel adversity with optimism and a sense of humor, but he is not dehumanized as a perfect man. His faults serve as a channel of empathy for the reader, an identifier. Yet, his victories in both common and terrible situations show us the strength of the human spirit when compelled by love, truth, and the will to live.

If you haven't read Unbroken yet, the Fourth of July season is as good a time as any to discover the cost of liberty from a POW's perspective.


Available Here: http://bit.ly/1NDI6ur