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Currently viewing the tag: "film"
– cute, but kind of pointless
– Verdi is our “Composer of the Month” for September, and this is a perfect rabbit trail book — the illustrations are just beautiful. I have a newfound appreciation of Aida. The drama of a love triangle may not be entirely suitable for the younger set though — my kids read it, but didn’t really like it.
– studying more Shakespeare this year. 13-yo has read/listened to Macbeth. We’ll be watching the movie soon. This is a gentler intro or re-intro to the Bard, for the younger ones.
– another cute book, about Chinese culture and imagination… not much substance though, or maybe I just missed it
– get this book! if just for the artwork. Lovely!! One word of caution: there is a page where Michelangelo is dissecting a cadaver. It’s not particularly gory or indecent, but probably not for sensitive or very young children. This one’s a read aloud aimed at older kids.
– an okay book, for kids who either don’t know what a library is or have no appreciation of it yet
– I’m not usually a fan of books that remind me of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (link to the book here
– classic book to teach your kids about good stewardship of the earth — if you like/love this book, perhaps you’ll like/love the next one as well. It’s also ecology, but more fantasy-style. I love the realism of the Kapok tree book, but something about the Florentine art in the other just captures and holds my affection.
– This book, of course, would be more suitably read in February, but we are on a Clyde Robert Bulla kick these days. I love that this book goes into the different legends/origins of Valentine’s Day, and doesn’t neglect the Catholic POV. Not really a fictional book per se, but entertaining and colorful enough to hold a little one’s attention.
– I *love* this book! Sooo sweet, but not saccharine sweet. Very very respectful and honest about sibling relationships and the rivalry that sometimes may come with it, balanced with a gentle (but non-preachy) emphasis on generosity and sharing. A great gift for a new big sister. Also a great reminder for parents to be sensitive to the needs of an older child when a new sibling joins the family.
– Very nicely done retelling of Russian folklore on the seasons of the year. I like books that present basic facts in a creative manner, and asks questions of the reader, or prompts them to ask questions, and come up with their own answers. The pastel drawings would be great for an art lesson or two!
– a pity the artwork isn’t available on Amazon. It’s a rather quaint book, with a myriad of characters all taken from well-known and common nursery rhymes and Mother Goose stories. Perfect lead in to many rabbit trails…. or use as the perfect ending to tie up and finish a collection of classic read alouds. Reminds me of Jolly Postman books
– great bio of Anna May Wong, written for kids. She was heretofore unkonwn to me. Every now and then it’s good to see new authors and illustrators tackling previously unknown subjects. Great springboard for discussing the film genre, stereotypes, racism, etc.
Anne is so gracious to share with us her family’s pics of the building of the Dawn Treader. Narnia fans, get over there!!! The kids and I are *sooooo* envious.
No, we have not read them. No plans of doing so right now. Label me fanatic, that’s fine. But I’m more than a bit struck with weird things going on in the world today…. I know my dd feels it too. Like this huge black cloud wanting to envelop us. I’m not prophesying doom and gloom. Every prayer and reading in the Liturgy of the Hours, esp. since after the election, reminds me of just how much God is in control and I’m not fearing His abandonment. But there is a sense of something not quite definable (or maybe it IS definable but I don’t want to define it for you)…. that’s hovering, or waiting…
A few months ago a friend of my daughter started reading Twilight and was encouraging her to read it. Thankfully my daughter isn’t so easily swayed anymore by peer pressure and conveyed her disinterest — the young lady didn’t insist so nothing more was said. Again and again since then the subject has come up between her and several more girl friends, and she still hasn’t changed her mind (too many things to keep her busy, especially a course right now on Anglo-Saxon literature that is MUCH TOO enjoyable for her to consider additional reading). Meanwhile I’ve kept my radar up since seeing the books at B&N and Borders, wondering when I’d start hearing about it from the moms. I’m sure I need not mention how much I respect and love and admire the ladies that post there. Their opinions hold a lot of weight with me. Interestingly enough, there are parallel discussions all over the blogosphere and other online lists I’m on, so I’m compiling the links here — for further discussion with dd should the need arise. We may or may not decide to read the series, but I am definitely on guard about it.
In terms of choosing literature, my main objection is not so much any sort of evil depicted in these stories — though those of course are always cause for scrutiny. But some authors have dealt with these and beautifully (CS Lewis and Tolkien come to mind), and that’s the point. There are literally THOUSANDS of books out there that are so much more worth reading… and there is NEVER enough time to read them all (Lord, is there a library in heaven? Would we even care?)… proof: the TALL piles of books on both mine and dd’s bedside tables. Why waste time on subpar stuff?
(Maria’s dd) Michelle Rioux’s review at The History Place (membership required)
Catholic Mom at Catholic Media Review — along with some giddy teen comments; why am I not surprised?
You Are What You Read and Eat, from Nancy — I second the recommendation for Regina Doman’s books, which my dd loves
Julie in CT, who recommends the books for teens only for 17 and up — my dd knows girls 12-16 that ARE reading the books sans advice from parents… it’s that insidious thing going on again… like how to boil frogs and all that…
Very thorough reviews and commentary from Spes Unica
The Best Thing Since Harry Potter? from Clare Cannon
from Sarah Reinhard at Just Another Catholic Pondering (added 12/2/08)
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What about the movie?
Catholic Media Review on the Twilight Movie
and a must read from Steven Greydanus at Decent Films — I’ve been waiting for this review and I wasn’t disappointed!!
Some notes on the movie:
First of all, WE LOVED IT!!!!! Even though there are many things to quibble about, just evaluating THE MOVIE ITSELF, we would have to say it is a definite keeper. This one will go on our (very picky) shelves. The cinematography, the costumes, the sceneries, the acting (for the most part), even the plot (thought not as faithful to the book as one would hope). I would rather watch this movie a hundred times over than any of the other inane offerings at our local cinemas these days…
That said, some things that we didn’t like:
- Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way: the kiss. Though it was a very chaste kiss, and seemed to fit the ages of the actors and the movie’s plot, it was not necessary. It was sweet, and given that (spoiler ahead) Susan is not supposed to be back for The Last Battle, it kinda makes sense to sneak that in there. But again, not necessary. The movie would have been FINE without it. To their credit, however, it doesn’t really detract from the movie’s value either. It just doesn’t add a whole lot, but I can see how some teeny-bopper non-book fans may like it a lot.
- Reepicheep was not the noble, gallant mouse we were all expecting. He was a little too cartoony and coarse for our taste, which ruins it quite a bit since Reepicheep is one of the major characters in the book. He was just a little too 21st century both in dialogue and action to fit in perfectly.
- I personally am not that happy with Ben Barnes, and thought they could have gotten a better actor. Maybe I’m just stuck in what I imagined Prince Caspian to be. Okay, I’ll give you that he IS quite dashing. My 17-yo doesn’t have any complaints so there you go.
- Too violent in some spots. But some may see that as a definite plus. For example, knight- and soldier-crazy boys like mine. And martial-arts-crazy girls like my 17-yo.
- Susan being such an asset in battle was inspiring, but somewhat unbelievable. Even my black belt of a daughter probably wouldn’t have been able to kick-___ much as Susan did in the movie. The fight scene between Miraz and Peter was first-rate though. (The kids had complaints about Miraz’ moment of demise which was different from the book
).
There are several more, but too petty to put on here. If you want more reviews, see my links on my “shared stuff” on the right. Macbeth has posted her opinion and so has Elena Maria Vidal.
