Big Bird flies high with new book of wisdom

Like many Americans, Caroll Spinney remembers watching the tragic Challenger shuttle mission in 1986. Had it not been for Big Bird, it could’ve been him on the mission instead of school teacher Christa McAuliffe.

‘Angelina Ballerina’ keeps author on her toes

When she was a little girl growing up on the North Side of Chicago, children’s book author Katharine Holabird imagined herself as a beautiful, graceful ballerina whose jumps were as light as a feather.

“I was a theatrical, melodramatic child,” says Holabird, phoning from Los Angeles. “I was also a tubby little 4-year-old waltzing around the house who thought I was this beautiful archetype–a ballerina.”

Entrepreneurs make book on various bad boyfriends

Maria Peevey and Megan Weinerman dated them all–the “It’s Not You It’s Me Guy,” the “Couldn’t Be Nicer Guy,” the “Girl Hair Guy.” You probably have, too, which is why the sassy entrepreneurs wrote Are You My Boyfriend? (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $14.95)–a humorous look at 19 types of men they’ve dated.

Sex, sex and more sex

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to make love with your partner three to five times a week. Now if you’re wondering how the heck you’re going to squeeze all that nooky into your busy schedule–the kids, the job, the social and community duties–perhaps you need to go on a diet, a sex diet. This concept is designed to let you have more, not less, whoopee, according to Laura Corn, in her new book.

Margaret Cho: Tears of a clown

Margaret Cho has more than a few reasons to be bitter: At 8, Margaret Cho’s classmates dubbed her “Pee Girl.” At 12, she was ostracized by kids at church. At 14, she was raped by a 22-year-old man she met at a party. And at 16, Cho began a year-long relationship with a 26-year-old who tried to convince her to engage in a threesome.

Candace Bushnell: ‘Sex’ author in our city

Candace Bushnell is walking down Michigan Avenue smoking a Merit. She is chic, blond and a dead ringer for Peggy Lipton during her “Mod Squad” heyday. A woman walks by pushing a pram occupied by a tiny baby and an equally small dog. Bushnell sneaks a quick peek and says, “It makes me want to have a baby just so that I could accessorize it with a dog.”