Review #125: Charlotte's Web

 
The 3rd Annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is coming soon!  We attended the screening in Chicago last year and it was tons of fun!  Don't know what the 90-Second Newbery is?  I'll put some links at the bottom of this post.  But in the meantime...

For our entry this year, we decided to tackle one of the most highly favored novels in Children's Literature.  Charlotte's Web won a Newbery Honor in 1952.  Ten years later, Spider-Man made his first appearance.  Hey... why not bring the two legendary spiders together?  Why not re-imagine the "Charlotte" characters as costumed heroes and villains in the opening credits of an imaginary tv show?  Okay!  Let's do it!  

We're proud to present our Charlotte's Web / Spider-Man / Mashup Video:



And for an actual 'review' of the book, here are the lyrics to our song:

­­

Charlotte’s web, Charlotte’s web

Making miracles with her thread
She spins a web that brings surprise
With her words she saves lives
Look Out!
Here comes Charlotte’s web

See that pig in the mud?
He will faint at the thought of blood
Will our Wilbur soon be dead?
Just take a look overhead
See there:
There’s hope in Charlotte’s web

From the farm to the fair

Meeting animals everywhere

He could get eaten any day

Danger’s never far away

That’s why

He needs Charlotte’s web

In the chill of night
With her own special twine
She in secret writes
To save the life of a swine

Charlotte’s web, Charlotte’s web

Friendly, generous, lots of legs
The pig gets fame
While she’s ignored
Making friends is her reward

So pigs, whenever you are shakin’
She’ll come and save your bacon
Look out for Charlotte’s web!

To see all four of our own Newbery Videos, click here...
To learn more about the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, click here...
To see the best of the 90-Second Newbery videos, click here...

Author: E.B. White
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Published, 1952: HarperCollins
Want the book?  Here it is

 

Review #119: Frog and Toad Together

It's that time of year again... The 2nd Annual 90-Second Newbery Festival is right around the corner!  Each year kids across the land are invited to make short video versions of their favorite Newbery winners, and this year the Z-Kids were eager to have another go at it.

You might know that one of Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books won a Caldecott Honor for illustration.  But did you know that a different one received the Newbery Honor for story?

We're excited to present our Frog and Toad Fan Film, performed by Isaac (14), Gracie (12), Lily (9), Elijah (7), and Evie (4)...





To watch it larger, you can click here...

If you'd like to see a behind-the-scenes "Making Of" video, click here...

If you'd like to hear Isaac's original free-styling harmonica score, click here...

If you'd like to watch all of our 90-Second Newbery entries, click here...

Author/Illustrator: Arnold Lobel
Published, 1979: HarperCollins
Like it?  Here it is

Review #117: The Order of Odd-Fish

 
Gracie (age 11):  We are reviewing The Order of Odd-Fish, and it is SO weird. 

Isaac (age 13):  It is crazy.  You will never read anything else like this. 

Lily (age 9):  It's very odd.  And you don't know what's going to happen next... so it's also kind of fishy. 

Isaac:  Silly.  And sometimes it's nerve-racking and suspenseful.

Dad:  From the very fist page we could tell this book was a little different.  But when did we know this book was totally off the rails?  When did we know that we were in for a very strange experience?

Gracie:  The flying head.  The first weird thing that happens is Mr. Cavendish's head flies off...

Dad:  Well, that's not the FIRST weird thing.

Gracie:  Oh yeah... before that, there's this giant talking cockroach...

Dad:  That's not even the first weird thing.

Gracie:  There's a guy with this weird digestion...

Dad:  THAT's not even the first weird thing!

Lily:  HA ha ha ha!

Gracie:  Colonel Korsakov comes along and he's got this magic digestion that tells him what to do.  So it's like... 'okay, that's weird.'  But by the time you get to the 3rd chapter in the book, talking digestions don't seem weird at all because Mr. Cavendish's head flies off and starts buzzing all over the room!

Lily:  It was very crazy.

Gracie:  The main character is Jo, and she works at a diner.  The only people in the whole town are old senior citizens.  Her Aunt Lily, who is kind of nutso, finds this black box, and she says, "I'm going to do a magic show!"  She stuck the box on Mr. Cavendish's head and cranked it, and Mr. Cavendish's head popped out of the box and started flying around!  And there was this crazy lady who started throwing waffles everywhere trying to hit the head.  All the old ladies were like, "Catch him! Bring him back!" And all the old men were like, "Go, Mr. Cavendish! Be freeeee!"  That's when we first thought, "What the heck is up with this book?"  I was laughing so hard.

Dad:  Okay, let's back up.  Tell me more about our main character Jo.

Gracie:  Jo is all mysterious.

Lily:  When she showed up as a baby, a note came with her.  "This is Jo.  Beware... she is a dangerous baby."  Bum-bum-BUM!

Isaac:  There was a really bad prophecy about her that said she was a monster called the Ichthala. 

Gracie:  It's going to destroy the world.

Isaac:  But Jo doesn't want to become a monster.  Everybody wants to kill the Ichthala.  But they don't know that it is Jo -- only she knows.

Gracie:  She feels like a living lie.

Isaac:  She doesn't know what to do.  She wants to tell somebody, but everyone will freak out and hate her.

Dad:  So that's something you don't always see... The main character of our story is the hero AND the villain.

Isaac:  There were lots of villains.  Ken Kiang is a millionaire who is attempting to be evil.

Gracie:  He wants to be the most evil person ever, but he can't because the Belgian Prankster is the worst.

Lily:  The Belgian Prankster can pluck his nose off and grow a stinger.  He also is really good at making balloon animals.

Gracie:  And he filled the Grand Canyon with tapioca pudding.

Dad:  Tsk tsk... how evil of him.  And tell us, what exactly is the Order of Odd-Fish from the title?

Gracie:  The Odd-Fish live on this island.  Jo and her friends get there after being swallowed and spit out of a big fish.  Colonel Korsakov was like, "Halleluiah! I'm in a giant digestion!"  The Order of Odd-Fish is an organization made up of all these knights that study ludicrous things.  Like... the leader is Sir Oliver, and he studies "Dithering."  Sir Festus studies insane weaponry.  Sir Alasdair and Dame Isabel study weird musical instruments and interesting smells.

Lily:  All the knights get a flying ostrich, and they ride all around on them.

Isaac:  The book has very weird creatures. 

Gracie:  Flying ostriches, talking cockroaches, Nangnangs, the Schwenk...

Isaac:  The Schwenk is a creature with four wings and it's very colorful.  It likes to be hunted.  Colonel Korsakov has a quest...

Gracie:  He's the "digestion" guy.

Isaac:  He has to capture the Schwenk.  That was his life's goal.  But the Schwenk always gets away before he catches it.

Lily:  There are also howling squids.  Jo and her friends go over to a big pit and get swallowed up into water. Then they ride around on squids in the diamond-walled tunnels and get chased by evil underground monkeys.

Gracie:  It's not something you see everyday.

Lily:  It's freaking awesome.

Gracie:  This is nothing like any other book.  It's so weird. This guy has an awesome imagination.  I love whoever wrote this book.  James Kennedy rocks. 

Dad:  The book is packed full of crazy.  So much more.  We haven't even begun to scratch the surface.

Gracie:  Kids will love this book... Unless you are some abnormal kid that likes broccoli and is all serious about the world.

 

underground squid riding, by Lily

 

Mr. Cavendish's flying head, by Gracie

  

Ken Kiang rides the schwenk, by Isaac

Author: James Kennedy

Published, 2008: Random House

Like it?  Here it is

Review #116: Alphabet Soup

Dad:  Today we are reviewing "Alphabet Soup."
Elijah (age 6):  Good.  Because I'm hungry.
Gracie (age 11):  I have no other words for this book except for... FREAKING AWESOMENESS!  Those are my words.
Dad:  It is written and illustrated by the great Scott Gustafson.
Isaac (age 13):  I love his art.
Gracie:  He has the best pictures.  No offense to any of my other favorite artists who might be reading this review...
Dad:   "Yes, everyone stinks compared to him... but no offense..."
Gracie:  Ha ha ha...
Lily (age 9):  His pictures are so detailed.  The shading pops out at you.
Gracie:  He does light and shadow well.  He has mastery of the mystery of colors.  He could probably make a donkey so realistic that people would say, "Come pull my cart, donkey."
Elijah:  It's so realistic, it probably took him 50 weeks to paint two pictures.
Dad:  Tell us what the book is about...
Isaac:  This book is about an otter that buys a house.  In the house he finds a dusty old soup pot.  It's really big and shaped like a zucchini.  He thinks, "I should have a potluck, and everyone could bring something to put in the soup."
Dad:  And who comes to the Soup Party?
Isaac:  All of his alphabetically ordered friends.
Dad:  That's quite remarkable to have 26 friends who all just happen to start with different letters of the alphabet, eh?
Gracie:  And they all brought food that started with the same letter as their name.
Isaac:  Yeah, what in the world is going on there?
Dad:  Quite a coincidence.
Isaac:  Like, there's a frog with flapjacks.
Gracie:  And a weasel with waltzing wieners!
Evangeline (age 4):  Yuck!
Dad:  And an elephant carrying eggplants in his ears.
Evangeline:  Yuck!!
Dad:  You wouldn't want to eat eggplants from an elephant's ears?
Lily:  I wouldn't even want to eat eggplants without the elephant.
Gracie:  I like food.  But I don't like any of the food in this book -- it's all yucky food.
Dad:  It's not all yucky.
Gracie:  Dude.  I wouldn't eat a soup with krill and pancakes in it.
Dad:  The pancakes aren't in the soup -- they are off to the side.
Gracie:  Well, I wouldn't eat a soup with krill in it.
Evangeline:  Yuck!!!
Isaac:  You don't even know what krill is, Evie.
Dad:  Maybe she can tell they're yucky just by looking at them.
Isaac:  Actually, I don't even know what krill is.
Gracie:  Whales eat it.
Dad:  So why did the koala have krill?
Gracie:  Maybe the koala's mother was a whale.
Dad:  Who was your favorite animal in this book?
Gracie:  The hedgehog.
Isaac:  Awww!  You little...
Lily:  Grace, you stole mine!
Isaac:  I was going to say him too!
Dad:  Why do you guys like him?
Gracie:  Because he's chubby and fat and funny and cute.  And he's got an awesome hat with a bunch of herbs on top.
Elijah:  I think all of the animals are cool.
Isaac:  The illustrator's style is awesome.  Like, that looks like a real ox!
Dad:  It looks like a real ox sat and posed for Mr. Gustafson...  see all the highlights and shadows in the folds of its neck...
Isaac:  I don't know how he does that.
Gracie:  How would he get an ox to pose for him?!?
Isaac:  Or dancing hotdogs!  They look like real hotdogs!
Gracie:  Real dancing hotdogs.
Lily:  And a unicorn couldn't stand up on a stool while holding a plate!  But it looks real!
Gracie:  And where in the world would he get a unicorn to pose for him?  Or even a tiger for that matter.
Dad:  He must just be a good painter.  Lots of practice painting real things has helped him paint imaginary things.
Gracie:  No.  I think he must have lots of amazing pets.
Dad:  Can you see why Scott Gustafson is one of my favorite artists in the world?
Gracie:  He's so cool.
Lily:  I think he and Mr. Sandford are the same person.
Dad:  That's weird that you say that!  He and Mr. Sandford are actually friends.
Gracie:  Whaaaa?
Dad:  And I got to meet him once.
Isaac:  Did he sign your chest?
Dad:  Why would he sign my chest?
Isaac:  Maybe you didn't have any paper with you.
Lily:  Heee he haa haah!
Dad:  Ever since I studied art in college, I'd had three favorite artists.
Gracie:  Who?
Dad:  Glen Keane, Peter deSeve, and Scott Gustafson.  They were my heroes.  One time I was at a big book show with Mr. Sandford, and Scott Gustafson came walking up to say hi to him.  Mr. Sandford knew I was a big fan, so he was excited to introduce me.  But I was in shock.  He pulled Mr. Gustafson over....
Gracie:  Hah, ha ha....
Dad:  Gracie's already laughing!  Why... what do you think is going to happen?
Gracie:  I don't know!  Ha ha!  Something embarrassing!
Dad:  Mr. Gustafson came over, and Mr. Sandford introduced me.  I said, "It's so nice to meet you.  Whenever people ask me who my favorite artists are, I always say the same three names.  I always say: Glen Keane, Peter deSeve, and Scott Guffter...  uh, Scott Grufsta...  Scott Gooster...  Gott Scuffscerso...  Spott...  Scopp...
Kids:  HAHHH Ha ha Ho ho ho!!!
Dad:  I kept stumbling and stammering, on and on, as he stared at me.  Then finally he graciously stopped me and said, "I think I know the guy you're talking about."
Gracie:  Ho ho ho haa!
Dad:  Do you know what I did after that?
Gracie:  You gave him big huggies?
Dad:  No.  I zipped my lip and didn't say another word the entire time.  I just stood there with a big 'ol smile on my face.  You guys have met some pretty famous people already...  all those interviews you've done.  But you're never in shock around them.  You just act like all these famous people are your best buddies.
Gracie:  I'm a good talker.  I don't really get shocked.
Dad:  Is there anyone you would be shocked to meet?
Gracie:  Maybe China.
Dad:  China?  The whole country?
Gracie:  Ha ha ha!  NO!  I mean China Anne McClain.  She stars in a Disney show.
Lily:  I thought she meant... China!
Isaac:  Yeah, the whole country of China comes up to you...
Gracie:  Well, that would be shocking too.

a turtle takes tomatoes, by Elijah

a panda picks pansies and puts peppermint in her purse,
by Gracie

a giraffe gathers grapes, by Lily

a narwhal's nice nectarines, by Isaac

Author/Illustrator: Scott Gustafson
Published, 1994: Greenwich Workshop Press
Like it?  Here it is...

Review #115: The Princess and the Kiss

Dad:  I'm here with my girly-girls reading "The Princess and the Kiss" for Valentine's Day.
Gracie (age 11):  I like the pictures.  The ladies have such pretty dresses.
Lily (age 8):  This book is especially good for kids when they are older.  Like Gracie's age.
Gracie:  Little kids might not understand the real meaning.
Dad:  And what is the meaning?
Lily:  Be careful and wise.  Have smartness.
Dad:  I think that sounds like a great lesson for little kids too.  Kids get messages thrown at them everywhere, at all ages, whether they realize it or not.  What do kids learn when watching "Zack and Cody"?
Gracie:  You really hate that show, don't you.
Dad:  Ha ha ha...
Lily:  They learn "Be naughty, be snotty, be little devils."
Gracie:  The message kids learn from Disney Channel shows is "Oh, I'm going to kiss all the boys I see... I'm going to go out dating when I'm seven."
Lily:  "I'm going to crush on boys..."
Dad:  Do you think that's a bad message?
Gracie:  It's not sinful, but it's not wise.
Dad:  Now the cover of "The Princess and the Kiss" says it's a story about purity.  Do you guys know what "pure" means?
Gracie:  Not being yucky.
Lily:  Clean.
Gracie:  If your heart is pure, it means your heart is clean.  There are not yucky bugs in your heart.
Dad:  Tell me about the "kiss" in this book...
Lily:  It's not a chocolate kiss.
Gracie:  It's a glowy sphere.
Lily:  It's magic.  It looks like a giant ball of glowiness.  It's a gift from God that the princess got when she was born -- the first kiss you give to someone outside your family.  The mom and dad kept it in
safely-safety-safeness for her.
Gracie:  They said, "This was a gift from God that we received when you were born.  Now that you are old enough, we are putting it in your hands.  It would be wise to save this kiss for the man you marry."  So then all these handsome princes come, like Prince Romance, and Prince Peacock...
Lily:  He was proud.
Gracie: ...and Prince Moneybags.
Lily:  He was Prince Chubby-chubbs.
Dad:  And what kind of guy was the princess looking for?
Gracie:  She was looking for a guy who would love her and love her kiss.  And she found him.
Dad:  And he had saved his first kiss for her too.  Did she find him right away?
Gracie:  Noooo.  But I think he was the handsomest of all, even though he wasn't a prince.
Lily:  Yeah, I thought the princes were ugly.
Gracie:  Especially since one was like 60 and bald.
Dad:  I thought the farmer boy she finally picked looked kind of girly.
Gracie:  Who?  Humble Hairy-head?  I think he's cute.
Dad:  Do you think other kids out there would like this book?
Lily:  No, because they all watch Zack and Cody.
Dad:  Ha ha hah...
Gracie:  Kids might be like, "That's okay for you, but that's old fashioned.  Kissing boys is so "today."  It's the new fad.  That book was published like what?  11 years ago?  That's old stuff."
Dad:  Yes, the olden days...  11 years...
Gracie:  Isaac already gave his first kiss away when he was little.  To his hamster.
Dad:  I think hamsters count as family.
Evangeline (age 4):  I give my kisses to Daddy!
Dad:  So what are the qualities you would look for in a husband?
Gracie:  First off, he's got to be a Christian.  That's the most important.  Second off, he has to love me and not have, like, three other wives.  And I think it would be nice if he had a sense of humor and wasn't always serious.
Dad:  Good things.  Any more?
Gracie:  Yeah, I have seven more.
Dad:  Seven!
Gracie:  I'm very particular!
Dad:  You might not be getting married for a long time.  Let me hear some more.
Gracie:  Those were the main things.  The next one is just kind of goofy...
Lily:  Hot hair!
Gracie:  Yeah, Lily knows.  I like hair!
Dad:  What about your list, Lily?
Lily:  I need him to be Christian.  That's number One, one, one.  And he has to be kind.  And be humble.  And then be honest and keep his word.  And love me - that is fifth.
Dad:  Fifth?
Lily:  Well... maybe second.
Gracie:  Those are good... trustworthy and faithful and honest.
Lily:  And these are not things that I need, but things that I want: Likes music and art.  That's about it.
Dad:  So, is this a good book for Valentine's Day?
Gracie:  Yeah.  Because it's about kisses and love.
Dad:  But think about it -- it's mostly about NOT kissing.  So why would that be a good book for Valentine's Day?
Lily:  Because it's about love!
Gracie:  True love.  She was saving her kiss for her husband.
Dad:  She loved her husband, even though she didn't know him yet.  You can show love by kissing AND show love by not kissing.  With every boy you don't kiss, you are showing love to your husband.
Gracie:  And you can still kiss all your family members.
Dad:  Or hamsters.
Lily:  And you can give out chocolate kisses!

Prince Poetry vies for the princess, by Lily

new family, by Gracie

Author: Jennie Bishop
Illustrator: Preston McDaniels
Published, 1999: Warner Press
Like it?  Here it is

Review #114: The Hobbit

Dad:  What did you think about "The Hobbit"?
Isaac (age 13):  "The Hobbit" is one of my favorite books.
Lily (age 8):  It's the bestest book ever.  Really good.  It should win an award.
Isaac:  I like it because it feels like it could have really happened thousands of years ago.  I like how the author describes everything.  It feels like you could go hiking around outside and find those places.
Lily:  I like it because it's an adventure story.  It's exciting.
Gracie (age 11):  I like this book because it was funny.  The characters are funny.  I like fat old Bombur.
Elijah (age 6):  Everyone should read the book because it's cool.  The coolest book we've ever read.
Dad:  Tell us what the story is about...
Gracie:  There's this Bilbo.  Bilbo Baggins.  And he's a quiet little guy.  He's a REALLY little guy.  He's a hobbit.  Hobbits are baby-sized people with big fuzzy feet.
Isaac:  They're not the size of babies.
Gracie:  Maybe the size of a baby cow.  Bilbo's friend Gandalf -- who he just met -- is a wizard.  He's cool, except he always keeps disappearing at the worst times.  Gandalf tells Bilbo, "You need to go on an adventure."
Lily:  Then a whole bunch of dwarves come.  They want Bilbo to go on an adventure to be a burglar to get gold back from the dragon who stole all the gold from the dwarves.
Dad:  They had lots of adventures along the way...  What was your favorite one?
Isaac:  The spiders.
Lily:  I like spiders...
Gracie:  You like spiders?
Isaac:  The group got completely lost in Mirkwood Forest.
Lily:  They went off the forest path.  They fell asleep and the spiders wrapped them up in their spider webs.  They are huuuuuuge spiders.
Isaac:  I imagine the spiders to be the size of dining room chairs.
Gracie:  Cows.  I think they are as big as full grown cows.
Isaac:  Yeah!  Cows!  That big.
Dad:  Hmmm, spider-cows....  They could squirt webs from their udders.
Lily:  Bilbo Baggins got out of his spider web and saved all the dwarves.
Isaac:  He sees the other dwarves wrapped up in the trees, but there were tons of spiders.  This is the first time Bilbo can't rely on anyone else.  He has to do it himself.  He becomes a hero.
Gracie:  Normally they would all be like, "The wizard saved us."  But Gandalf had disappeared again.  So Bilbo was like "I'll have to stand up and save these dwarves, because apparently, they can't save themselves!"
Isaac:  It's the first time the dwarves start appreciating him.
Elijah:  Bilbo was a warrior.  Bilbo killed practically all of the spiders.
Dad:  Would you be brave enough to do that?
Elijah:  If I was like Bilbo.  But I think Bilbo is braver than me.
Dad:  What if Dad was wrapped up in a spider web, about to be eaten?  Would you come save me?
Elijah:  Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm......
Isaac:  You'd better say yes!
Elijah:  Yeah, I'd do it.
Dad:  Thank-you!
Gracie:  What about me?
Elijah:  No.  I would leave you there.
Gracie:  My brother loves me.
Elijah:  I'm just kidding.
Dad:  Tell us about some of the characters and creatures they all met along the way.  How about Elves?
Gracie:  Sometimes elves are like solemn warriors.  But in this book they were like, "Tra-la-la-la-loodle! Tra-da-doo-da-doodle!"  They were jumping around, dancing in the trees, drinking wine.
Dad:  How about Goblins?
Isaac:  They escaped goblins more than once.  Wolves chased everyone up into the trees.  Then the goblins came and started setting the trees on fire so they were trapped.  Then these eagles came and picked the dwarves and Bilbo up off the trees.
Gracie:  The eagles are coming!  The eagles are coming!
Dad:  How about Dragons?
Elijah:  Smaug is the name of a big dragon.  He's cool.
Gracie:  I like Smaug.  Smaug is the bestest.  He's my favorite besides Fili and Kili.  He's the dragon who guards all the treasure.  He's kind of funny and gruesome.  He likes to kill things.
Dad:  Anyone else?
Lily:  My favorite character of the book was Gollum.
Gracie:  What - are you serious?
Lily:  I like Gollum.
Gracie:  You like Gollum?  And you like spiders?  You're just creepy.
Dad:  You didn't like Gollum, Gracie?  I thought you loved that chapter.
Gracie:  I did.  It was my favorite.  I just don't like him.  But he makes a good villain.  Gollum is yucky.  He's evil!  He's creepy!!!  And he liked to eat people.  He became invisible with a magic ring and he ate a baby goblin!  A little squeaker!
Dad:  That's one less goblin in the world.
Gracie:  But it was just a baby squeaker!
Lily:  Gollum is really mischievous.  He likes riddles.
Gracie:  His riddles were tricky.  I don't know how Bilbo solved them.  But I like people who can tell riddles.  So maybe Gollum and I could be friends -- if he wasn't evil, and still had his grandma, and wasn't living down in the caves eating people and little baby squeakers.  Then he might be my friend.

Bilbo and Gollum, by Lily

Bilbo and spiders, by Elijah

Smaug, by Gracie

eagles carrying dwarves and Bilbo, by Isaac

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Published, 1937: Allen & Unwin
Like it?  Here it is

Review #112: Tales of the Kingdom

Dad:  What do you have to say about "Tales of the Kingdom"?
Isaac (age 13):  It's a very good "family book."  It's a good book for families to read together.
Gracie (age 11):  It's for all ages.
Dad:  It's one that people will want to read over the course of many days.
Gracie:  There are many stories in this book.
Lily (age 8):  But they are all about the same persons.
Gracie:  "People."
Lily:  The stories are kind of like parables of the Bible, only these are about now-a-day persons.
Gracie:  "People."
Dad:  Tell me what a parable is...
Lily:  In the Bible, Jesus uses parables - like the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  There was this shepherd who had 100 sheeps...
Gracie:  "Sheep."
Lily:  But he lost one.  So he left the 99 sheeps...
Gracie:  "Sheep."
Lily: ...to find the lost one.
Dad:  Why did Jesus teach in parables?  Was that necessarily a true story about a real shepherd?
Lily:  No.
Dad:  So what was the point?
Gracie:  So we can learn that God cares about all his children.  Or "childs."  Lily would say "childs."
Dad:  So the purpose of listening to a parable is...
Lily:  To learn stuff.
Gracie:  Learning through a story you can relate to.
Dad:  So that was a biblical parable.  Now let's talk about "Tales of the Kingdom."  The first time we read through this, years ago, we read a chapter every night before bedtime.
Gracie:  The second time we read it, you read it in front of our Sunday School class.
Dad:  Yep.  Every so often I spend some weeks reading through the book before our Bible lessons.  I've read through the book 4 or 5 times now in Sunday School over the last 10 years.  It's a book I would highly recommend to people looking for quality moral stories with great writing.
Gracie:  And the pictures in this book are AMAZING.  They have such cool borders and details.
Isaac:  The stories are about this kid named Scarboy who lives in the Enchanted City.  This evil ruler guy, the Enchanter, hates the sun -- so he makes everyone sleep in the daytime and wake up at night so he can use his fire and magic.  Scarboy's parents die, so he's going to become the Enchanter's slave and he has to get branded.  So he tries to run away with his little brother.
Gracie:  What was the little brother's name?
Dad:  Wasn't it "Little Brother"?
Lily:  Small Child.
Dad:  Little Child?
Isaac:  Small Person.
Gracie:  Teenie Weenie Little Boy.
Isaac:  So Scarboy and his brother run away to this place called Great Park.  I bet it's great.
Gracie:  Great Park is a place for outcasts.
Lily:  It's a good happy place.
Gracie:  With trees.  Enchanted City didn't have trees.
Lily:  The good king is there, and he disguises himself as an old beggar.
Dad:  Who is your favorite character in Great Park?
Isaac:  Caretaker is awesome.  He wears a tree-hat.  He has all these cool little pockets and a hat with a tree on top of it.
Gracie:  My favorite is Princess Amanda.
Dad:  She's my favorite too.
Gracie:  Princess Amanda is a girl who wears overalls and sneakers.  Scarboy thinks she's crazy.
Lily:  But she's not.
Isaac:  She can spit with perfect aim.  She can knock rocks off of fences.
Dad:  We talked earlier about parables.  Give me an example of one of the parables in this book.
Isaac:  Every year these dragons come and lay eggs in Great Park.  And every year the kids have to find the eggs like in an Easter egg hunt and give them to Caretaker.
Lily:  They had a sign that said you are not allowed to keep the eggs.
Isaac:  But this one year, Princess Amanda kept one.  She figured, "What harm could a little tiny baby dragon do?"  And she loved it.  She never told Caretaker about it.
Lily:  She wanted a nice pet.  She had a little hideout in a tree-cave.  But the dragon got too big for it, and she couldn't hide it there any more.
Isaac:  Over a long time it grew bigger and bigger, and finally it got too big for her to control, and it burned down half of Great Park.
Lily:  Princess Amanda almost died by the dragon.
Dad:  Since these are "lesson stories," does that mean they are lame?  Are they boring?
Lily:  No - they are awesome!  They are very adventurous.
Dad:  That dragon one is so exciting.  You don't know what is going to happen.  And it doesn't wrap up nicely -- Amanda doesn't get out of it perfectly fine, does she?
Gracie:  She becomes bitter.
Lily:  She becomes evil.  She has to go to Mercy because she gets all burned up.
Dad:  So what could somebody learn from that parable?
Isaac:  You could learn about lying.  You might think that one little lie won't hurt.  But it can lead to more and more until it gets too big to handle.
Dad:  The book never comes out and says, "This teaches you about the dangers of sin..."  Do you think it needs to?  Do you think kids are smart enough to make the connections?
Gracie:  Some kids are smart enough.  But some kids are little dummies.

Caretaker, by Isaac

Enchanter's Burner chasing Scarboy, by Lily

Princess Amanda and the dragon, by Gracie

Authors: David and Karen Mains
Illustrator: Jack Stockman
Published, 1983: Lamplighter Publishing
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Review #110: Wonderstruck

Dad:  What did you think of "Wonderstruck"?
Isaac (age 13):  It was.... wonderful.  And striking.
Lily (age 8):  Mysterious.
Gracie (age 11):  There were a lot of mysteries.
Dad:  What is one way this book is like Brian Selznick's other book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret"?
Lily:  They are both big!!!  Super big!
Gracie:  They look like huge thick dictionaries.
Lily:  But you can read them really, really fast.  They are made out of mostly pictures.
Dad:  Who can tell me what the story of "Wonderstruck" is about?
Isaac: You mean "stor-IES."  There are two.  There is one story with words, and there is one story with pictures.  Then at the very end they combine together.
Lily:  They cross paths.
Isaac:  I'll tell you the story about the boy.  I'll tell you the "word" story.  There's a boy whose name is Ben.  His mom died in a car accident, and he doesn't know his father.  He found a bookmark and a locket in his mom's room.  They had his father's name and phone number, and that led him on a big search.
Lily:  Ben had a bad ear and a good ear, but then he became deaf in both.
Isaac:  He had tried calling his dad's phone number, but it was raining and thundering outside...
Gracie:  And lightning-ing!
Isaac:  What do you think "raining and thundering" means?
Gracie:  You didn't say "lightning-ing."
Isaac:  There's going to be lightning if there's thunder.
Gracie:  Lightning-ing...
Isaac:  That's not even a word.
Gracie:  Thundering and lightning-ing.
Isaac:  Ben was talking on the phone, but then he got electrocuted by the... lightning-ing.
Lily:  Lightning goes into his good ear, and he becomes deaf.
Isaac:  Then he ran off to New York to find his dad.
Lily:  Now I'm going to tell you about the girl's journey.  That story is all in pictures.  Her name is Rose and she is deaf.  She felt like nobody could understand her because she was deaf.  She was lonely.  She ran away because she didn't like studying.  She ran away to a museum.
Gracie:  She needed someone to accept her, so she climbed out her window and ran away to New York to find someone to accept her.
Dad:  I see some reoccurring themes here.  People running away from home...
Gracie:  Deaf people...
Dad:  We did this same thing when we reviewed "Hugo Cabret."  We found themes.  Brian Selznick likes to write motifs, doesn't he.  What are some of the reoccurring elements in "Wonderstruck"?
Lily:  Deafness.
Dad:  Stars.
Gracie:  Oh yeah, I forgot Ben likes stars.
Isaac:  New York City.
Gracie:  Wolves.  Ben has a special collecting box with wolves on it.
Lily:  And there are wolves in his dreams.
Dad:  And the museum has a wolf diorama.
Gracie:  Collecting things is another theme.  In his box Ben collected a bird skeleton, a smooth rock and a lumpy rock, a game piece, a turtle made out of seashells, and a locket.
Dad:  Who else collects things?
Gracie:  Curators.
Dad:  Ooo... good word.
Gracie:  A curator is pretty much anyone that collects things.  Like a museum curator.  But Ben learned that anyone can be a curator.  You can collect memories.  Curating is just collecting things and organizing them.
Isaac:  His mom worked at a library, so she helped collect and organize books.
Dad:  And she collected quotes and phrases.
Gracie:  AWWW!  They never told us what it meant!  "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Isaac:  Aww!
Gracie:  It's a quote Ben's mom had saved, but they never told us what that meant!
Dad:  Well, what do you guys think it means?
Gracie:  I have no idea!!!
Dad:  Ben's mom wanted Ben to figure it out for himself.  Maybe the author wants us to figure it out for ourselves too.
Gracie:  He never told us what it meant!  That's going to drive me crazy!!!
Dad:  Let's think about it.  Do you know what a "gutter" is?
Lily:  A punch... in the gut.
(chuckles from all)
Gracie:  It's a thingie on the roof that collects leaves and junk.
Dad:  But I don't think there are people in those kind of gutters.
Isaac:  There are gutters on the road.
Dad:  And who would be laying along the side of the road?
Gracie:  A traveling musician.  Or a hitchhiker.  Or a poor person.
Lily:  A poor person would be sitting in the gutter.
Dad:  So what does it mean if "we are ALL sitting in the gutter"?
Gracie:  We are all poor.
Dad:  We all have similar problems.  But what makes some people different?  It's not that some people don't have any problems...
Lily:  Some of them look at the stars.  They "hope."
Dad:  Remember what Ben did when he found something that came from the stars?
Lily:  He made a wish.
Gracie:  So it means "we all have things that make us sad, but some of us have hope."

Ben's collection box, by Isaac

Rose escapes out her window, by Gracie

wolf diorama, by Lily

Author/Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Published, 2011: Scholastic
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Review #109: The Black Cauldron

We have another video review for you today!

Earlier this year we reviewed "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander.  Afterward, our family continued reading through the rest of the Prydain Chronicles.  The second book in the series, "The Black Cauldron," was a Newbery Honor...  so we figured we'd work up another submission for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival...

This time, the review is a solo effort by Lily!  She summarized the book all on her own and later did all the pictures.  The movie does run over 90 seconds, but I didn't have the heart to cut a single precious second from it.

Here's Lily's take on "The Black Cauldron" -- enjoy!  And feel free to share :)





Author: Lloyd Alexander
Published, 1965: Henry Holt
Like them?  Here they are