Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Looking for book ideas for boys?

Are you looking for book ideas for boys? You should check out Jon Scieszka's Guys Read web site. It's a web-based literacy program for boys whose mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."

Book recommendations are listed by category, such as "Outer space, but without aliens," "Mysterious Occurrences," and "Monkeys and/or Apes," just to name a few. October's book-of-the-month is the non-fiction Battle in the Arctic Sea, and the New Book on the Pile is Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett.

Jon Scieszka (pronounced CHESS-ka) wrote The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, the Time Warp Trio series, and Squids Will Be Squids, among other books. He is also the first (and current) Children's Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

This blog is worth a look!

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Latest Movies Based on Kids' Books

Seems lately that best-selling books translate well to the big screen. Here's a run-down of the latest ones:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Based on the book by Judi Barrett
Movie Release: September 18, 2009
In the land of Chewandswallow, food (rather than rain or snow) falls from the sky. But something goes awry -- the food falling from the sky gets larger and larger, causing residents to make an escape before being squashed by giant pancakes.
CAST: Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Tracy Morgan, Mr. T

Where the Wild Things Are
Based on the book by Maurice Sendak
Movie Release: October 16, 2009
Max is sent to bed without supper and imagines sailing away to the land of Wild Things. Max is loved by the wild creatures who make him their king, though he soon longs to be back home with his family.
CAST: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Pepita Emmerichs, Forest Whittaker, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Based on the book by Rick Riordan
Movie Release: February 12, 2010
Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod -- the son of a mortal woman and a Greek god. He and his new friends set out on a cross-country adventure to catch whoever stole the lightning bolt and to settle an ongoing battle between the gods.
CAST: Logan Lerman, Catherine Keener, Alexandra Daddario, Pierce Brosnan, Jake Abel, Demitri Lekkos