Now Playing: City of Ember

Perfect Picture Book Friday will return in September.
Until then,

Welcome to the Bookish Ambition 

Summer Drive-In

The Circle Drive-In from my childhood. Still open and now with double features on two screens!

Now Playing: City of Ember
Written by Jeanne DuPrau
Cover by Paul Sullivan
Random House BFYR, 2003
Ages 8-12, Lexile 680L

City of Ember, Walden Media, 2008

New edition of City of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau
Cover by Paul Sullivan

 

Highlights from the book? 

• Concise, gripping world-building without info dumping.
• Poppy, Granny, and the shop
• Fun character names
• The secret message 
• The awesome map of Ember by Chris Reily
• The deluxe edition with bonus material and a facsimile of the instructions.

Highlights from the movie?

• Amazing steampunk vibe 
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste...always
• Some truly terrifying moments
• Cinematography by Xavier Grobet
• Set Design, especially Jon Billington's and Celia Bobak's work

Opening:

"When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future."


Movie Trailer:


Thoughts:
I read the author was disappointed by the design of the movie. My opinion couldn't be more different. I love the book for the rich and natural world-building. I like the variety of characters and eagerly turn the pages as they unravel the clues which could save their world. Similarly, I love the thoughtful, layered scenic design of the movie, and the costumes and cast perfectly portrayed my vision of Ember. A good note for all of us who write: once the book passes from our hands to the hands of our readers, their imagination takes over. It becomes their book. And the movie version of Ember is my book cinematized. Perhaps that's why I was disenchanted with the book's sequels. My imagination and the author's went in different directions. I'm told if you want to see DuPrau's vision of Ember and its inhabitants, read the graphic novel.

Find a Krispy Kreme location near you...It's worth the drive!

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We're trying something new tonight.
in honor of their 8oth anniversary...

The Original Krispy Kreme

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July 14 deal: 
Buy one dozen, 

Get the second dozen for  80¢

And just in case you don't know what to do with the second dozen, why not make Krispy Kreme strawberry shortcakes with instructions from Desi on SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl.


Nostalgic for a drive-in movie? There are over 5,000 drive-in theaters across the U.S. mapped for you on Cinema Treasures.

Build your own gorgeous outdoor screen with instructions from Horticult.

Have you seen The City of Ember? What's your opinion?
Reviewed the book? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review for The City of Ember, coming July 17, 2017.