Dating Big Bird: A Novel

Dear Big Bird , I love you and Mr. Dunphy

Dating Big Bird features an annoying protagonist with a fierce desire to have a baby. Undoubtedly, this character would raise any child to be as whiny and useless as she is. Her preoccupation with the Pickle and Big Bird border on pathological. After detesting Animal Husbandry, I shouldnt have expected anything different from this book.

Enjoyed this read. Good story which explored the human condition. The characters had depth and the book, overall was well written and it moved along. I liked it.

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I cant say I was entirely shocked by some of the behavior recounted in this one. Rumors have been flying around for years of what was going down on that Childrens Television Workshop soundstage. Culled entirely from hypnosis confessions, several of Big Birds victims come forward and tell of their experiences at the hands of this madman. At this point, were all familiar with BBs quirks. Shame, lawsuits, and disease just seem to follow this guy around. Im a little tired of it, and a lot of the material is old news. The more famous stories werent interesting anymore. After all, weve heard them a million times. Who wants to hear again about Grover and that mule? Or how our protagonist got the nickname Birdy Sanchez? The really telling stories were of the lesser known episodes in BBs life. I, for one, didnt know he grew up in a jail brothel or that he lost his virginity to Marth Raye. (yes, he said he often called her The Big Mouth during) That lady was the Wynona Ryder of her day. Not many got away from her. (Hugh Downs and one other) I bet ole Martha Raye would put a hurtin on Bright Eyes. Shed tear that Kansan a new one alright! I felt a little sorry for the young ladies (and gentlemen) as they told of their hotel experiences with Bird. I have to admit though, I couldnt help but chuckle when Dottie M. said she actually fell for it when asked upstairs to see his Yella Fella!! I mean, jeezey pete, thats the oldest puppeteer trick in the book.

This book gives one of the most realistic views into the mind and heart of a thirtysomething professional woman Ive read in a long time. Ellen faces the sometimes harsh, sometimes bittersweet situations that a single woman whose friends are mostly married and have or are going to have children in a way that I find very realistic. Sometimes youre jealous because your life hasnt seemed to work out in the same way, sometimes youre happy for your friends because theyve achieved what makes them happy, and theres everything in between. This book did a good job of capturing the whole spectrum of emotions that can arise. In the end, this book was a good reminder to me that life takes equal parts of pursuing what you want and being patient for things to come out as they are meant to.

Laura Zigman writes excellently. Her characters are believable as woman with real-world issues, and she adds just the right about wry humor to the story to make you laugh aloud (I did!) The best thing about Zigman is I can relate to her characters, as I am sure many other woman can, too. This book (though once you get half way through the epilogue it becomes a bit predictable) will keep you wondering what is going to happen to Ellen Franck and will have you believing she is one of us.

This is a great book for summer, all girls will love the honest, loveable story. And all who have babies on the brain will see there own life in the story!

Once I read past the fluffy first pages, the meat of the story - the authors deeply honest probing of profession women caught in singledom - fed my own hungry, questioning heart.

What could be better than reuniting with one of the most successful girls from high school only to discover that most of what you see is an illusion--and that youre kindred spirits after all! The scenes between aunt and niece (The Pickle) are tender and true, and the whole book is much nicer than Animal Husbandry because theres no call for revenge. (But check that book out, too.) A happy read!