Now Playing: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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: 
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Written by C. S. Lewis
Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
HarperCollins, 1952
Ages 8-12, Lexile 720L

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
Walden Media, 2010

My favorite version of Dawn Treader
Cover by Leo and Diane Dillon

 

Highlights from the book? 

• C. S. Lewis's unique storytelling style
• Very personal narrative
• Caspian's romance
• Multiple adventures
• Spiritual aspects
• Less violent

Highlights from the movie?

• Outstanding casting
• Reepicheep!
• Dazzling special effects
• Focused cinematic storyline
• Eustace in both forms
• Exciting action scenes

Opening:

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, because he had none.


Movie Trailer:


I am a fan of the Narnia books, though they can be old-fashioned and slow-moving at times. I loved the first movie, but had my doubts when the film rights for the successive books were sold to another company. The novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is full of interesting segments and new characters, but it is a quest tale with shallow heroes. I can think of more than a few disappointing movies adapted too faithfully from quest novels. This movie takes the best segments of the book and condenses them into a more focused journey with an over-arching threat. It is a true sequel, too. It works hard to keep continuity by bringing back old characters and deepening their character arcs. I like the added backstory and the setting. And the new characters are some of my favorites from the films. The action is intensified for the big screen and historical background downplayed. I don't think you could have the movie without the book, but I think it is a great extension of a classic book series.

What did you think?

Reminisce with intermission commercials

from Captain Bijou on You Tube.

Visit Our Snackbar!

What would the drive-in be like without the snack bar?

What's your favorite movie candy? In my top three is a box of Nestle Sno-Caps. There's something magical about that rattling, scraping sound as the Sno-caps slide toward the tiny perforated opening in the box (and my mouth!) They are kinda noisy, which made them better suited to the drive-in than the theater.

Want a quieter version with the same chocolate taste? Nestle offers a recipe for Sno-Cap cocoa cookies with Sno-Caps baked right in, or The Rowdy Baker invented an amazing recipe for a cookie version of a Sno-Cap, a chocolate cookie covered in nonpareils. Yum!


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

Drive-In movie projectors, photo The Top Shelf

Update your backyard movie tech with tips from Popular Science, and turn your old projector into an object d'art instead. Shop upcycled projector/lamps from Light and Time Art on Etsy or find plenty of DIY versions like the film reel table on Pinterest. 

Have you seen any screen adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia? Of the Dawn Treader? What's your opinion?
Have you reviewed the book? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

View all the Summer Drive-In reviews for 2017.
Check out the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review coming August 7, 2017.

Writing Kidlit

"Whenever I really like a grown up writer's work, I always think, 'This is so great. Why do they write for adults???'"
—John Green*


The Spirit bookplate by Will Eisner via La Neuvieme Art


*Via Twitter

MMGM: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Written and illustrations by Brian Selznick

Scholastic, 2007
Ages 8-12, Lexile 820
533 pages, 26000 words


Themes:
orphans, film, history, inventing


Opening:
The opening is wordless. You can find it on the official site.
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/slideshow.htm


Thoughts:
Hugo Cabret is a 12 year-old boy living in France during the magical fin de siecle. His father was a museum director with an aptitude for tinkering and his uncle was a clock-keeper in the Gare de Montparnasse. Hugo inherits his family's gifts plus an iron determination to rebuild the automaton his father left behind. With the help of an adventurous bookworm and the interference of her grandfather, a mysterious old toymaker, Hugo uncovers one family's deepest secrets.

I was blow away by this book when it first appeared and frankly still am. I was familiar with Brian Selznick's picture book work (The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins) and fascinated by the visual nature of the novel (and I use that word loosely.) With wordless, illustrated segments comprising over half the book, it almost feels like a graphic novel, or a flip book, both of which I was fascinated with in my youth. Selznick immerses the reader in the narrative in a way I hadn't seen before. And when the main character began to reveal the book's historical moorings, I was delighted to find links to other people and events I cared about.

Unlock the magic yourself...but do yourself a favor. Invest in the Hardback paper version. The cinematic nature of the book doesn't lend itself to a digital format.

Last Friday I compared the book with the movie version, Hugo.

Bonus: 
1. I love the interview with Brian Selznick on The National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature. You can also find one on Reading Rockets and a bibliography and bio on KidsReads.

2. Brian has built a career out of his quirky taste. Wonderstruck and The Marvels are not to be missed.

3. Brian Selznick lists 20 of his favorite books for kids on Gwarlingo.

4. How Brian Selznick's drawings became a book.



5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret was also reviewed by Jasmine Marie, the Bookish Mama

6. If you liked The Invention of Hugo Cabret, other MMGM bloggers recommend

The Search for Wondla,
by Tony DiTerlizzi

The Search for Wondla, by Tony DiTerlizzi
Reviewed by Shannon Messenger on Ramblings of a WannaBe Scribe, Night Writer, and The Hopeful Heroine

Circus Mirandus,
by Cassie Beasley

Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley, illustrated by Diana Sudyka,
Reviewed by
Geo Librarian
My Brain on Books
Middle Grade Mania

Echo, by Pam Ryan

Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan, cover art by Dinara Mirtalipova
Reviewed by
Writer in the Rain
Children's Books Heal
Susan Uhlig

The Amulet, book 1,
The Stonekeeper
by Kazu Kibuishi

The Amulet series by Kazu Kabuishi,
Reviewed by Night Writer

I highly recommend Matt Phelan's books including Around the World and Bluffington.
Also check out Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale.

Around the World, a pictorial novel

Bluffington, an illustrated book about young Buster Keaton

Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for July 31, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!

Now Playing: Hugo

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: Hugo
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written and illustrated by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007
Ages 8-12, Lexile 8200L

Hugo, G K Films, 2011

The Invention of Hugo Cabret,
Written and illustrated by Brian Selznick

 

Highlights from the book? 

• The subtle and emotional art
• The creation of a half-novel-half-wordless book
• Selznick's amazing blend of fiction and reality
• The sequential, cinematic feel of the book
• The re-introduction of art-heavy books for "big kids"

Highlights from the movie?

• Perfect cinematic depiction of the novel
• Ben Kingsley
• Steam, clockworks, and automata
• Directed by Martin Scorsese
• Score by Howard Shore

Opening:

You'll find the opening pages on Brian's website.
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/slideshow.htm

Movie Trailer:


Thoughts:
The book is almost a movie the way it tells a story through wordless art sections and magical prose. Only film makers with a keen eye and dedication to the original novel could pull off a worthy adaptation, and boy does the crew of this movie do just that. Some viewers may find the pacing slow, because it definitely runs at a thoughtful speed, but the careful observer will revel in the details. Fans of the book will notice familiar camera angles and close-ups. Newcomers will be fascinated by the intricate world-building.

This interview with Brian Selznick by Ed Vulliamy for the Guardian compares the book and movie better than I ever could and sneaks a peek at Wonderstruck coming to theaters in October.

Reminisce with intermission commercials
from Captain Bijou on You Tube.

Visit Our Snackbar!

If you fondly recall anthropomorphic food dancing across the screen, then you know this week's snackbar must-have is PIZZA!

If you're ever in Northeast PA, grab a wood fired pizza pie at Big Ten, one of my all-time favorite pizza places. Comet Ping Pong in downtown DC is a must-see. Their balsamic "Dream" pizza is worth driving a few hours out of your way. And if you're "down the shore," stop in at DJ's new location for a personal flatbread.

In the mood for something sweeter?
Hungry Happenings designed a strawberry-kiwi fruit pizza that looks like a watermelon. Confusing, but delicious.


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

Buy new-vintage at Lawnchair USA

If you can't see past your dashboard, you can bring your own seating. Remember those aluminum folding chairs from the early fifties? We must have rewebbed our a dozen times over. Shelterrific has posted beautiful step-by-step instructions for a vintage look. Modern DIYers may have more comfotable solutions. Lindsay on Better After posts a clever canvas and rope solution, while both DIY Network and A Beautiful Mess opt for macrame versions.

Have you seen Hugo? What's your opinion?
Reviewed The Invention of Hugo Cabret? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out all the Summer-Drive-in reviews for 2017.
Tune-in next week for the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, coming July 31, 2017.

IF: Sailor

I saw other artists posting merpeople, so I thought I'd post one of my own.

"Mer-pirate" by Joanne Roberts, colored pencil on toned paper, 5" x 7"

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "sailor."

It was tricky getting a good scan because of the toned paper. Maybe it's my monitor.

Revision is a Part of Life

"Writing is rewriting...Nothing creative ever takes shape exactly the way it’s planned."
—  Deb Lund*

Black bird and apple book plate from Pinterest

*Via Meg Miller's ReviMo

MMGM: A Little Princess

Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:

Reprint of Tasha Tudor edition from my childhood

A Little Princess

Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Illustration by Tasha Tudor
HarperCollins, 1992 reprint of 1963 edition
Ages 8-12, reading level 4.8
Lexile 250, 336 pp


Themes:
Poverty, Resourcefulness


Opening:
Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, and odd-looking little girl sat in a cabin with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.

She sat with her feet tucked under her, and leaned against her father, who held her in his arm, as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.

She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sarah Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time.


Thoughts:
A Little Princess is definitely a fairy tale. But though the main character's fortunes may seem implausible, they are in proportion to her losses: not her poverty, but—spoiler alert—the loss of her parents and Indian home. The return of her wealth pales in comparison to the joy of finding a surrogate family.
Each time I read this story I discover something new. There were times in my life when I found Sarah precocious and insufferable, but happily I am back to enjoying her charm. I do wish I could channel a bit more Sarah Crewe when I receive a rejection letter or have to deal with my insurance company.

The book has the flaws typical of its place in history. As with all dated fiction, this book contains some stereotypes. I like to see the positive and learn from the negative. As lamentable as colonialism was, for example, I like to imagine that there were those who genuinely loved the culture and people of their adopted lands. I see Sarah and her father as two of those people. I myself revel in the Indian details and envy Sarah's fluency in Hindi. (My progress is lamentably slow.)

All in all, I believe A Little Princess has much to offer modern children (though probably mostly girls) and can still capture their imaginations. Quite a feat for a book over one hundred years old.


Bonus: 
1. You'll find biographical information about the author on Books Tell You Why and Your Dictionary.

2. Check out the Summer Drive-In review of A Little Princess, the movie from July 21, 2017.

3. Cover feast: This book has been published and republished. As an illustrator, I sometimes just want to revel in the variety of xtyles.

Originally serialized,
 then published under the title, Sara Crewe

First Edition, 1905
illustrated by Harold Piffard

Reprint of a cover by Ethel Franklin Betts

Free audio and e-versions from Loyal Books

Adapted by Jennifer Bassett for Oxford Press

Adapted and illustrated version
by Barbara McClintock

4. Below are more reviews of Francis Hodgson Burnett's books by fellow MMGM participants.

A Little Princess
Marsh and Emiline on Monster Ate My Book Report
Mike from Middle Grade Mafioso

The Secret Garden
Joanne of My Brain on Books
Dawn on Project Mayhem
Completely Full Bookshelf


5. If you liked A Little Princess, other MMGM bloggers recommend

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, reviewed by Myrna on Night Writer.
The Romeo and Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone, reviewed by Ruth on Readatouille and Mike on Middle Grade Mafioso
The Belgian Twins, by Lucy Fitch Perkins, reviewed by Gabrielle Prendergast.
The Humming Room, by Ellen Potter, reviewed by Andrea on That's Another Story and Dawn on Project Mayhem

The Humming Room,
by Ellen Potter,
Cover by Jason Chan

The Romeo and Juliet Code,
 by Phoebe Stone

The Belgian Twins,
by Lucy Fitch Perkins

View all the Summer Drive-In reviews for 2017.

Visit all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for July 24, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Feel free to leave your MG recommendations in the comments. Thanks!