I heard this story on NPR this morning, about how the Dahl family keeps tight control over what screenplays get made into adaptations of his movies. It was a good story, worth listening to, and made me more excited than ever to read Fantastic Mr. Fox and then see the movie, which also got a really positive review.
So far, I've been pretty pleased with the adaptations. What are your favorites?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
George's Marvelous Medicine
One more in our Roald Dahl run, George's Marvelous Medicine is our latest read.
The Story: George is left at home with his dreadful, grumpy grandmother. She needs to have her medicine, and he is supposed to give it to her. Instead of giving her the medicine she always takes, George decides to mix up his own batch of "medicine" to teach her a lesson, and maybe make her nicer along the way.
The Good: It's funny, and Evalina liked it. The grandmother really has no redeeming qualities, so you can't feel very badly for her. The writing is, in Dahl's style, humorous to the highest degree.
The Bad: How many times did I say "Now, you know this is pretend, right? You must never ever do anything like this, because what George is mixing together would at the very least make a person very sick, and it would probably kill them. This is all pretend. Do you understand?" I mean, he was mixing anti-freeze, shoe polish, sheep dip, toothpaste, paint, and all sorts of other crazy things. So, I'd say this book definitely needs a warning from the parent, unless you want to have poison control on speed dial. Also, his grandmother doesn't really ever get nicer, and in fact, because she is greedy, ends up disappearing into nothing! George's parents don't seem to really care, either. It's a little disturbing, honestly.
The Verdict: While Evalina really liked it, I can't say that this is a must read. Not that I think every children's book should have a redeeming moral lesson behind it, but this barely had any story at all. George's grandmother was awful, so he mixed up some medicine to try to make her better. It didn't make her better, it just made her hugely tall. He gave some to a chicken and it made the chicken huge. His father got excited and fed some to a lot of the farm animals, to try to gain something from it (like football sized eggs). His father insists that George try to mix up more, but he gets it wrong three additional times, and the final potion shrinks Granny into nothing. Life goes on, seemingly as before, minus the Granny. Yeah. Not so exciting, either. Amazon says it is good for grades 2-4, and I think that it was good, age-wise, for Evalina (grade 1), but there are many other better books out there, I just don't know that I can recommend this one.
The Story: George is left at home with his dreadful, grumpy grandmother. She needs to have her medicine, and he is supposed to give it to her. Instead of giving her the medicine she always takes, George decides to mix up his own batch of "medicine" to teach her a lesson, and maybe make her nicer along the way.
The Good: It's funny, and Evalina liked it. The grandmother really has no redeeming qualities, so you can't feel very badly for her. The writing is, in Dahl's style, humorous to the highest degree.
The Bad: How many times did I say "Now, you know this is pretend, right? You must never ever do anything like this, because what George is mixing together would at the very least make a person very sick, and it would probably kill them. This is all pretend. Do you understand?" I mean, he was mixing anti-freeze, shoe polish, sheep dip, toothpaste, paint, and all sorts of other crazy things. So, I'd say this book definitely needs a warning from the parent, unless you want to have poison control on speed dial. Also, his grandmother doesn't really ever get nicer, and in fact, because she is greedy, ends up disappearing into nothing! George's parents don't seem to really care, either. It's a little disturbing, honestly.
The Verdict: While Evalina really liked it, I can't say that this is a must read. Not that I think every children's book should have a redeeming moral lesson behind it, but this barely had any story at all. George's grandmother was awful, so he mixed up some medicine to try to make her better. It didn't make her better, it just made her hugely tall. He gave some to a chicken and it made the chicken huge. His father got excited and fed some to a lot of the farm animals, to try to gain something from it (like football sized eggs). His father insists that George try to mix up more, but he gets it wrong three additional times, and the final potion shrinks Granny into nothing. Life goes on, seemingly as before, minus the Granny. Yeah. Not so exciting, either. Amazon says it is good for grades 2-4, and I think that it was good, age-wise, for Evalina (grade 1), but there are many other better books out there, I just don't know that I can recommend this one.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Minpins
Still on our Roald Dahl kick, we picked up The Minpins. It is a shorter picture book, but it took us two nights to read, because it is thick on the prose.
The Story: Little Billy longed to explore the woods near his house, but his mother told him all sorts of creatures lurk in the forest just waiting to gobble him up. One day, when his mother wasn't looking, he snuck off into the forest... and discovered that his mother was right! He fled from an evil fire-snorting beast, and ended up high in a tree, where he met the most interesting creatures of all - tiny people called the Minpins. With heads no bigger than peas, they inhabit the trees of the forest and are transported on birds. They are also kept from the forest floor by the evil fire-snorting beast, which devours them by the thousands. Little Billy hatches a plan, though, to allow him to return home, and will allow the Minpins to travel the forest freely. It is a brave plan - but will it work?
The Good: Little Billy is brave, and the minpins are kind and open. The prose is beautiful, and the illustrations are stunning. The book makes kids want to pay attention to nature - because who knows? They might just see a minpin riding on a passing robin. Very sweet. It was short enough that it didn't take long to read. Evalina loved it.
The Bad: The Gruncher (the evil beast) is truly terrifying. It's an unseen cloud of snorting, fire-breathing horror. Though Little Billy defeats it in the end, there are some scary parts. The whole story stems from Little Billy disobeying his mother's explicit wishes, and I don't know that I like that part of it, since I have kids that don't always listen so well...
The Verdict: A delightful read. Amazon recommends it from ages 3-8, and I'd say that's about right. I didn't read it to Philip when I was reading it to Evalina (he was off reading with Daddy), but I bet he would have liked it. It is different from other Roald Dahl books we've read so far, but that is not a bad thing. The humor that is so evident in the longer books is replaced by pure fantasy in The Minpins. It made me want to take a closer look at passing birds.
The Story: Little Billy longed to explore the woods near his house, but his mother told him all sorts of creatures lurk in the forest just waiting to gobble him up. One day, when his mother wasn't looking, he snuck off into the forest... and discovered that his mother was right! He fled from an evil fire-snorting beast, and ended up high in a tree, where he met the most interesting creatures of all - tiny people called the Minpins. With heads no bigger than peas, they inhabit the trees of the forest and are transported on birds. They are also kept from the forest floor by the evil fire-snorting beast, which devours them by the thousands. Little Billy hatches a plan, though, to allow him to return home, and will allow the Minpins to travel the forest freely. It is a brave plan - but will it work?
The Good: Little Billy is brave, and the minpins are kind and open. The prose is beautiful, and the illustrations are stunning. The book makes kids want to pay attention to nature - because who knows? They might just see a minpin riding on a passing robin. Very sweet. It was short enough that it didn't take long to read. Evalina loved it.
The Bad: The Gruncher (the evil beast) is truly terrifying. It's an unseen cloud of snorting, fire-breathing horror. Though Little Billy defeats it in the end, there are some scary parts. The whole story stems from Little Billy disobeying his mother's explicit wishes, and I don't know that I like that part of it, since I have kids that don't always listen so well...
The Verdict: A delightful read. Amazon recommends it from ages 3-8, and I'd say that's about right. I didn't read it to Philip when I was reading it to Evalina (he was off reading with Daddy), but I bet he would have liked it. It is different from other Roald Dahl books we've read so far, but that is not a bad thing. The humor that is so evident in the longer books is replaced by pure fantasy in The Minpins. It made me want to take a closer look at passing birds.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Matilda
We are on a Roald Dahl kick, and decided to read Matilda next. I don't know how I missed it as a child - it is really spectacular!
The Story: Matilda is a genius. She began reading all on her own at about 3, read all of the children's books in the library by about age 4 1/2, and then graduated to reading Dickens and the like, with great enjoyment. She is a whiz at math, and seems to have nothing that is really beyond her. The only problem is, her parents are completely unable to see how special she is. Her father is a scheming used car salesman, and her mother is a bingo addict, and they never want to do anything other than watch television and eat their tv dinners. They ignore her more often than not, and when they do notice her, they label her as trouble from the get go. When Matilda starts school, she finally gets noticed for the special little girl that she is, and her life changes forever.
The Good: Matilda is amazingly smart, but never conceited about it. She is clever and a good person. She doesn't let her situation get her down. Her parents are terrible and mean, but she gets even with them in creative ways. Her relationship with her teacher, Miss Honey, is lovely. Miss Honey is the first person (besides the stunned librarian) who really sees the potential in Matilda. There are some fun, unexpected, near magical things about Matilda as well. She makes you want to be just a little like her.
The Bad: Matilda does get some good revenge, and it isn't always nice. (Not that they didn't deserve it). Miss Trunchbull, the horrific headmistress, is really really awful in so many ways, and is scary. The grown ups, for the most part, are non-receptive to Matilda. Her parents are also really unpleasant. Her brother is mentioned but never really plays much of a part in the book at all. Near the end (spoiler alert), Matilda's family decides to up and move to Spain, and that had Evalina in full-blown tears, while I urged her to keep reading because I was sure it would all work out in the end. Matilda also makes even the smartest person look a bit dull.
The Verdict: Amazingly written, funny, and sweet, Matilda is a book I would recommend to anyone. Evalina adored it. Amazon recommends it for ages 9-12, but I think earlier readers would appreciate it just as much (Evalina is now 6 1/2). The Trunchbull is evil, but almost humorously so. There is always a sense of humor about everything. That's why we are enjoying Roald Dahl so much. I really want to watch the movie and see how it compares. I've heard it's good. Anyone have any opinions? I can't wait to read more Roald Dahl. I don't think you can go wrong.
Edited to add: We watched the movie this morning, and it was fabulous! It differed from the book somewhat, but in good ways. We both enjoyed it a lot.
The Story: Matilda is a genius. She began reading all on her own at about 3, read all of the children's books in the library by about age 4 1/2, and then graduated to reading Dickens and the like, with great enjoyment. She is a whiz at math, and seems to have nothing that is really beyond her. The only problem is, her parents are completely unable to see how special she is. Her father is a scheming used car salesman, and her mother is a bingo addict, and they never want to do anything other than watch television and eat their tv dinners. They ignore her more often than not, and when they do notice her, they label her as trouble from the get go. When Matilda starts school, she finally gets noticed for the special little girl that she is, and her life changes forever.
The Good: Matilda is amazingly smart, but never conceited about it. She is clever and a good person. She doesn't let her situation get her down. Her parents are terrible and mean, but she gets even with them in creative ways. Her relationship with her teacher, Miss Honey, is lovely. Miss Honey is the first person (besides the stunned librarian) who really sees the potential in Matilda. There are some fun, unexpected, near magical things about Matilda as well. She makes you want to be just a little like her.
The Bad: Matilda does get some good revenge, and it isn't always nice. (Not that they didn't deserve it). Miss Trunchbull, the horrific headmistress, is really really awful in so many ways, and is scary. The grown ups, for the most part, are non-receptive to Matilda. Her parents are also really unpleasant. Her brother is mentioned but never really plays much of a part in the book at all. Near the end (spoiler alert), Matilda's family decides to up and move to Spain, and that had Evalina in full-blown tears, while I urged her to keep reading because I was sure it would all work out in the end. Matilda also makes even the smartest person look a bit dull.
The Verdict: Amazingly written, funny, and sweet, Matilda is a book I would recommend to anyone. Evalina adored it. Amazon recommends it for ages 9-12, but I think earlier readers would appreciate it just as much (Evalina is now 6 1/2). The Trunchbull is evil, but almost humorously so. There is always a sense of humor about everything. That's why we are enjoying Roald Dahl so much. I really want to watch the movie and see how it compares. I've heard it's good. Anyone have any opinions? I can't wait to read more Roald Dahl. I don't think you can go wrong.
Edited to add: We watched the movie this morning, and it was fabulous! It differed from the book somewhat, but in good ways. We both enjoyed it a lot.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
James and the Giant Peach
We've been on a Roald Dahl kick recently, and I hadn't read James and the Giant Peach since I was a kid, so I thought it would be a great one. What a treat!
The Story: James Henry Trotter lived with his unpleasant aunts, Spiker and Sponge, and was miserable. They were cruel and he never got to play with other children. He was forced to spend all of his time in his miserable house and his miserable yard, with his miserable aunts. Then, one day, a mysterious stranger gave him a bag of magical pellets, which would give him wonderful things, but only if he was the first thing they touched. It would have been wonderful... except he tripped and the pellets sunk into the soil by the roots of the old defunct peach tree in the garden. He thought all was lost, until the amazing thing that happened to the peach tree started to effect him. An enormous peach grew on the tree, and in the end, it freed him from his horrid aunts, and brought him on a wonderful and exciting adventure, with new friends.
The Good: James is a wonderful boy. Though he hated his aunts, he was not mean about it, and he came from a sad place (his parents had died), but he always looks for the positive things. The bug friends in the peach are funny and love James immediately. James always comes up with clever solutions to problems. The adventure is exciting without being too scary. There is a good amount of humor throughout. We caught a reference to the Vermicious Knids from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator! In the end, James gets everything he could want, even though he dropped the magic pellets. It all works out in the end. And isn't that nice?
The Bad: James' Aunts get run over by the peach, and squashed, and there is nary a word said about it. Squish, and the story moved on. That might be a bit much for some kids. Evalina didn't seem bothered by it. There are some scary parts when the peach is attacked by sharks and ominous Cloud Men, which also might be scary for some kids. The word "ass" is used in several places. That's all the bad I can think of.
The Verdict: Just wonderful! I can't wait to watch the recent movie with Evalina. Does anyone know how it compares? Amazon recommends this book for ages 9-12, but my 6 1/2 year old loved it. This is a classic that you shouldn't miss. Roald Dahl is delightful.
The Story: James Henry Trotter lived with his unpleasant aunts, Spiker and Sponge, and was miserable. They were cruel and he never got to play with other children. He was forced to spend all of his time in his miserable house and his miserable yard, with his miserable aunts. Then, one day, a mysterious stranger gave him a bag of magical pellets, which would give him wonderful things, but only if he was the first thing they touched. It would have been wonderful... except he tripped and the pellets sunk into the soil by the roots of the old defunct peach tree in the garden. He thought all was lost, until the amazing thing that happened to the peach tree started to effect him. An enormous peach grew on the tree, and in the end, it freed him from his horrid aunts, and brought him on a wonderful and exciting adventure, with new friends.
The Good: James is a wonderful boy. Though he hated his aunts, he was not mean about it, and he came from a sad place (his parents had died), but he always looks for the positive things. The bug friends in the peach are funny and love James immediately. James always comes up with clever solutions to problems. The adventure is exciting without being too scary. There is a good amount of humor throughout. We caught a reference to the Vermicious Knids from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator! In the end, James gets everything he could want, even though he dropped the magic pellets. It all works out in the end. And isn't that nice?
The Bad: James' Aunts get run over by the peach, and squashed, and there is nary a word said about it. Squish, and the story moved on. That might be a bit much for some kids. Evalina didn't seem bothered by it. There are some scary parts when the peach is attacked by sharks and ominous Cloud Men, which also might be scary for some kids. The word "ass" is used in several places. That's all the bad I can think of.
The Verdict: Just wonderful! I can't wait to watch the recent movie with Evalina. Does anyone know how it compares? Amazon recommends this book for ages 9-12, but my 6 1/2 year old loved it. This is a classic that you shouldn't miss. Roald Dahl is delightful.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The BFG
When I was a child, the school librarian read The BFG to us. I still had a great fondness for it, even though I didn't remember much about it, and I was super excited to share it with Evalina and re-read it myself. What a treat!
The Story: At the orphanage, Sophie is all alone and none too happy. She can't sleep, and happens to be awake in the middle of the night and sees something strange out of her window. She sees a giant. The giant sees her. He reaches into her window and snatches her right out of her bed. Luckily for Sophie, this giant is not the child-eating kind, but a Big Friendly Giant (BFG for short). He brings her back to Giant Country, where he shows her (carefully, so they don't see her) the nine other giants - who are much larger than he is, and enjoy eating up humans by the dozen. In his cave, he shows her his collection of dreams. The BFG travels to the misty dream country with Sophie and shows her how he captures dreams. At night, he travels to the human countries and blows dreams into children's bedrooms (which was what he was doing when Sophie saw him). Can he and Sophie put a stop to the other terrible giant's human consumption? Can the BFG get something to eat other than the horrid snozzcumbers that he is forced to live off of in leu of humans?
The Good: The BFG is funny, and Sophie is very warm and open with him. He is protective of her, and he is honorable. This book offers lots of practice in sounding out words, because the BFG has poor grasp of language sometimes. Roald Dahl has a way of making scary things funny. The fearsome giants are undoubtedly evil, and scary, but they never seem ominous. Sophie is safe with the BFG.
The Bad: As mentioned, the other giants are terrible. They snatch children from their beds at night and gobble them up like popcorn. They beat up the BFG and are cruel to him because he is smaller than they are (he is only 24 feet tall, and they are all at least 50 feet tall). There are jokes about farting, so if you don't like that sort of thing, you might not like that bit. Sophie is an orphan, and that might take some explaining.
The Verdict: Good prevails (sorry for the spoiler), and even the Queen of England is won over by the BFG. According to Amazon, the book is for ages 9-12, but Evalina was certainly old enough for it (at 6 1/2). Obviously it made a big impression on me, since I had good memories of it to this day. It is a great book, and I can recommend it to anyone, no matter the size.
The Story: At the orphanage, Sophie is all alone and none too happy. She can't sleep, and happens to be awake in the middle of the night and sees something strange out of her window. She sees a giant. The giant sees her. He reaches into her window and snatches her right out of her bed. Luckily for Sophie, this giant is not the child-eating kind, but a Big Friendly Giant (BFG for short). He brings her back to Giant Country, where he shows her (carefully, so they don't see her) the nine other giants - who are much larger than he is, and enjoy eating up humans by the dozen. In his cave, he shows her his collection of dreams. The BFG travels to the misty dream country with Sophie and shows her how he captures dreams. At night, he travels to the human countries and blows dreams into children's bedrooms (which was what he was doing when Sophie saw him). Can he and Sophie put a stop to the other terrible giant's human consumption? Can the BFG get something to eat other than the horrid snozzcumbers that he is forced to live off of in leu of humans?
The Good: The BFG is funny, and Sophie is very warm and open with him. He is protective of her, and he is honorable. This book offers lots of practice in sounding out words, because the BFG has poor grasp of language sometimes. Roald Dahl has a way of making scary things funny. The fearsome giants are undoubtedly evil, and scary, but they never seem ominous. Sophie is safe with the BFG.
The Bad: As mentioned, the other giants are terrible. They snatch children from their beds at night and gobble them up like popcorn. They beat up the BFG and are cruel to him because he is smaller than they are (he is only 24 feet tall, and they are all at least 50 feet tall). There are jokes about farting, so if you don't like that sort of thing, you might not like that bit. Sophie is an orphan, and that might take some explaining.
The Verdict: Good prevails (sorry for the spoiler), and even the Queen of England is won over by the BFG. According to Amazon, the book is for ages 9-12, but Evalina was certainly old enough for it (at 6 1/2). Obviously it made a big impression on me, since I had good memories of it to this day. It is a great book, and I can recommend it to anyone, no matter the size.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Shakespeare's Secret
I got Shakespeare's Secret for Evalina last year, when the author came to visit her school. It is a signed copy, which I think is pretty cool.
The Story: Hero is in 6th grade, and she and her family have just moved to a new town. Her father is a Shakespeare scholar, which explains her name, and her sister Beatrice's as well. Where Beatrice makes friends easily and fits in well, Hero doesn't do so well. Her first day at school, a girl in her class brings up the fact that she has a dog named Hero, and the teasing begins. Things start to get marginally better for her when her mother sends her on an errand to bring something to their neighbor, the elderly Mrs. Roth. Mrs. Roth has a story to tell, about a diamond that went missing in Hero's new house, and she thinks it is hidden there. Mrs. Roth also has a young friend, named Danny Cordova, who is the most popular boy in Beatrice's school. He befriends Hero, and together they search for the diamond, which holds secrets of it's own.
The Good: The friendship between the two kids and Mrs. Roth is really heartwarming. Hero is a likeable character who I, personally, could relate to. The mystery was really engaging. There were bits of Shakespearean lore and history throughout the book, and I think it is never too early to start a kid on at least knowing who Shakespeare is. The characters were all very well developed and well written. I got Evalina to come to bed on more than one occasion by reminding her that the diamond wasn't found yet. The relationship between Hero and Beatrice is very realistic.
The Bad: I think Evalina was a little young for some of the themes in the book - lots of middle school drama, which I hope she never experiences (though she probably will), and since she had never really heard about Shakespeare before, I don't know that a book involving conspiracy theories about whether William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays was the best place to start. Knowing Evalina, she'll be spouting out that theory all over the place. There was also a part about Danny's mom taking off when he was a kid, and that made her really sad. In some parts, Hero lies to her parents and sister. Not the best role model all the time (but who is).
The Verdict: Overall, a super good book. It is recommended for grade 4-7, and though, as noted, some of the themes were a bit too old for her, she did well on the actual story and the reading. She was very engaged in the story (as was I). I think it would probably be a better one to wait a while for, simply so that there is more historical background for your child, but it is definitely recommended.
The Story: Hero is in 6th grade, and she and her family have just moved to a new town. Her father is a Shakespeare scholar, which explains her name, and her sister Beatrice's as well. Where Beatrice makes friends easily and fits in well, Hero doesn't do so well. Her first day at school, a girl in her class brings up the fact that she has a dog named Hero, and the teasing begins. Things start to get marginally better for her when her mother sends her on an errand to bring something to their neighbor, the elderly Mrs. Roth. Mrs. Roth has a story to tell, about a diamond that went missing in Hero's new house, and she thinks it is hidden there. Mrs. Roth also has a young friend, named Danny Cordova, who is the most popular boy in Beatrice's school. He befriends Hero, and together they search for the diamond, which holds secrets of it's own.
The Good: The friendship between the two kids and Mrs. Roth is really heartwarming. Hero is a likeable character who I, personally, could relate to. The mystery was really engaging. There were bits of Shakespearean lore and history throughout the book, and I think it is never too early to start a kid on at least knowing who Shakespeare is. The characters were all very well developed and well written. I got Evalina to come to bed on more than one occasion by reminding her that the diamond wasn't found yet. The relationship between Hero and Beatrice is very realistic.
The Bad: I think Evalina was a little young for some of the themes in the book - lots of middle school drama, which I hope she never experiences (though she probably will), and since she had never really heard about Shakespeare before, I don't know that a book involving conspiracy theories about whether William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays was the best place to start. Knowing Evalina, she'll be spouting out that theory all over the place. There was also a part about Danny's mom taking off when he was a kid, and that made her really sad. In some parts, Hero lies to her parents and sister. Not the best role model all the time (but who is).
The Verdict: Overall, a super good book. It is recommended for grade 4-7, and though, as noted, some of the themes were a bit too old for her, she did well on the actual story and the reading. She was very engaged in the story (as was I). I think it would probably be a better one to wait a while for, simply so that there is more historical background for your child, but it is definitely recommended.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
