The Tale of Despereaux

For all of you who loved the book by Kate DiCamillo......The Tale of Despereaux movie is being released on December 19th. Here is a brief synopsis:

Tiny and graced with oversized ears, Despereaux was born too big for his little world. Refusing to live his life cowering, he befriends a Princess named Pea and learns to read (rather than eat) books—reveling in stories of knights, dragons and fair maidens. Banished from Mouseworld for being more man than mouse, Despereaux is rescued by another outcast, Roscuro, who also wants to hear the tales. But when the Princess dismisses Roscuro’s friendship, he becomes the ultimate rat and plots revenge with fellow outsider Mig. After Pea is kidnapped, Despereaux discovers he is the only one who can rescue her…and that even the tiniest mouse can find the courage of a knight in shining armor. In this tale of bravery, forgiveness and redemption, one small creature will teach a kingdom that it takes only a little light to show the truth: what you look like doesn’t equal what you are.

This movie features the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci and Robbie Coltrane.

Great Web Sites for Kids

Are you looking for good web sites for your children or students? Check out Great Web Sites for Kids, which is published by the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. Great Web Sites for Kids features links to web sites of interest to children, organized by subject headings such as animals, literature and languages, math and computers, the arts, and history and biography. There also is a special section with sites of interest to parents, caregivers and teachers, plus an area devoted to sites in Spanish. Great Web Sites for Kids is maintained and updated by an ALSC committee.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

For those of you who liked the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, the movie is being released this Friday, November 7. Here is a brief synopsis:

Through the lens of an eight-year-old boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II, we witness a forbidden friendship that forms between Bruno, the son of Nazi commandant, and Schmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp. Though the two are separated physically by a barbed wire fence, their lives become inescapably intertwined. The imagined story of Bruno and Shmuel sheds light on the brutality, senselessness and devastating consequences of war from an unusual point of view. Together, their tragic journey helps recall the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga. Director: Mark Herman