I'm not sure what happened with my last three posts - they were all dated September 11. I sometimes write a bunch of posts to keep in inventory so I can post regularly. I did that on September 11 but it looks like Blogger assigned that date to them even though I posted them a week apart. Oh well...technology.
One of things that I do a lot of is read with my kids. How thrilled was I, when I saw my dog-eared copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in Satchel's room. This is my copy of the book - from when I was a kid - and Sam has already read it twice. I was an avid reader when I was a kid and it just tickles me to be reading some of my favorites now with Sam and Satchel.
Since having kids, I have become more and more appreciative of the children's genre. I was pretty old school (Charlotte's Web, Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jacob Two-Two) but reading with my kids has opened my eyes to some really fantastic stories and authors, ranging from Sandra Boynton to Cornelia Funke. Having boys means that I probably won't be reading Heidi, Black Beauty, or National Velvet with them. That being said, I know a lot more about dragon lore and stories than I ever thought I would, and I enjoy them thoroughly.
Sam and I have a special reading relationship. When we start a novel together we usually finish it together. Sam will read something else when it's Daddy's turn. I love this! I find it a rare night when I can't be talked into just one more chapter whether it's because I have become engrossed in the story or just to bask in Sam's enthusiasm. Right now we are reading Ice Fire, which is the second book in a dragon series by Chris D'lacey.
Here are some of my favorite children's books (not all inclusive as I could fill pages):
Guess How Much I Love You, Sam Mcbratney
Moo, Baa La, La, La, Sandra Boynton
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
Franklin the Turtle (Series), Paulette Bourgeois
Little Critter Series, Mercer Mayer
Huge Harold, Bill Peet (Bill Peet is one of my all time favorite children's authors, dating back to kindergarten)
Anything by Robert Munsch
Charlotte's Web, E.B. White
Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, Mordecai Richler
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
Dragon Rider, Cornelia Funke
I am happy to say that Satchel seems to be following a similar path to Sam in his love of reading. He loved Charlotte's Web, which was our first try at a chapter book (did he ever feel like a big boy). We followed with Jacob Two-Two (Sam wouldn't read this for some reason which tickled Satchel even more) and now on to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Harry Potter series shouldn't be too far off and I can't wait to read it for the third time.
The reading habits of a road warrior business traveler
Showing posts with label KidsLit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KidsLit. Show all posts
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
When is the Movie Ever Better?
I find the whole book versus the movie debate a little tiresome sometimes. When is the movie ever better than the book. I would say never. I do think though there are times when a movie is at least AS good as the book. Of course, the cases of movie so much worse than the book are infinite in my opinion.
Why this topic now. Last night, we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in celebration of Sam finishing the book and I am now reading Wicked, the novel the stage musical is based on. Even though I make every effort to not see movies based on books unless I get a chance to read them, I actually saw the stage musical Wicked last year (another notable exception to my rule is the Godfather trilogy). That being said, I still haven't seen the Lord of the Rings because I had to read the books (which I did last summer and much to my surprise I absolutely LOVED them). However, knowing who played the characters made it much easier to get through some of the more complex parts of the trilogy because I had a visual. Nor have I seen Mystic River because I haven't read the book and although I would like to see the movie, I know the book will completely depress me. Similarly I read Cider House Rules after John Irving won the Oscar for the screenplay. It peaked my curiosity and reignited my interest in his books. So this book versus movie thing can be a bit challenging.
Another example is Bridges of Madison County. I loved this short novel. It pushed all of my romantic buttons. I wasn't thrilled to hear of the project to make it into a movie although I had thought about who should play the leads. In my mind it was Robert Redford and Mary Steenburgen. Don't ask me why - those are just the faces I associated with the characters. I came around to Clint Eastwood but Meryl Streep didn't do it for me. I though the film was just okay.
I was actually looking forward to Interview with a Vampire as a movie - that is until they cast Tom Cruise as Lestat. I was livid as was every other Anne Rice fan and the author was none too pleased herself. For me, Rutger Hauer was a living breathing Lestat. The challenge was by the time Hollywood got around to making the movie, Hauer was too old. The casting in that movie missed a number of marks. Again it was just okay but man did they nail Claudia with the casting of a young Kirsten Dunst.
I could go on and on. One thing is for sure, you just cannot capture the depth of the narrative and all of the small things in a novel that contribute to the plot, when you take it to movie. The pure fact of time available on screen limits the creative ability. The Harry Potter movies are quite good but we have spent most of the time trying to quell Sam's indignation at the exclusion of certain parts of the book.
I expect I'll finish Wicked this week and I'll give you my thoughts on it then. Suffice it to say that the stage play was fun and entertaining and even though I am only half way through the novel, I can say with confidence that the stage version doesn't even come close to doing it justice.
Any pics and/or pans of screen adaptations of favourite novels?
Why this topic now. Last night, we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in celebration of Sam finishing the book and I am now reading Wicked, the novel the stage musical is based on. Even though I make every effort to not see movies based on books unless I get a chance to read them, I actually saw the stage musical Wicked last year (another notable exception to my rule is the Godfather trilogy). That being said, I still haven't seen the Lord of the Rings because I had to read the books (which I did last summer and much to my surprise I absolutely LOVED them). However, knowing who played the characters made it much easier to get through some of the more complex parts of the trilogy because I had a visual. Nor have I seen Mystic River because I haven't read the book and although I would like to see the movie, I know the book will completely depress me. Similarly I read Cider House Rules after John Irving won the Oscar for the screenplay. It peaked my curiosity and reignited my interest in his books. So this book versus movie thing can be a bit challenging.
Another example is Bridges of Madison County. I loved this short novel. It pushed all of my romantic buttons. I wasn't thrilled to hear of the project to make it into a movie although I had thought about who should play the leads. In my mind it was Robert Redford and Mary Steenburgen. Don't ask me why - those are just the faces I associated with the characters. I came around to Clint Eastwood but Meryl Streep didn't do it for me. I though the film was just okay.
I was actually looking forward to Interview with a Vampire as a movie - that is until they cast Tom Cruise as Lestat. I was livid as was every other Anne Rice fan and the author was none too pleased herself. For me, Rutger Hauer was a living breathing Lestat. The challenge was by the time Hollywood got around to making the movie, Hauer was too old. The casting in that movie missed a number of marks. Again it was just okay but man did they nail Claudia with the casting of a young Kirsten Dunst.
I could go on and on. One thing is for sure, you just cannot capture the depth of the narrative and all of the small things in a novel that contribute to the plot, when you take it to movie. The pure fact of time available on screen limits the creative ability. The Harry Potter movies are quite good but we have spent most of the time trying to quell Sam's indignation at the exclusion of certain parts of the book.
I expect I'll finish Wicked this week and I'll give you my thoughts on it then. Suffice it to say that the stage play was fun and entertaining and even though I am only half way through the novel, I can say with confidence that the stage version doesn't even come close to doing it justice.
Any pics and/or pans of screen adaptations of favourite novels?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Going out on top
I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I am not a bandwagon type of person but I seriously LOVED IT!! This book was definitely different from the others. The formula is slightly altered and it is definitely the darkest and most violent of all the books (although one could argue that Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blooded Prince foreshadowed this pretty strongly). My son Sam is just over half-way through the Prisoner of Azkaban and he is loving it.
One of the things that I am exceedingly grateful for with the last book is that Sam is now very motivated to get through the series. He is a little daunted by the size of the remaining books but he is SO curious as to what happens in Deathly Hallows that I think he will overcome that. He has been peppering me with questions all week. When I finished it last night, I have to admit, I was a bit weepy - not because of the content of the book but because I knew that there weren't any more coming...at least not any time soon.
This actually led me to thinking about other prolific authors and the merits of getting out while you are still on top. I have mentioned in previous posts that I have a tendency to latch on to writers that I like and read everything they write. This goes back to high school when I discovered Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hardy, etc. What really hit me this week is how disappointing it is when an author that you love loses his/her touch.
Take Anne Rice for example. She has been an extremely prolific author but is best known for her Vampire Chronicles series of books. The first two books Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are outstanding in my opinion but the following books are diluted and boring. I thought she struck gold again when she started a series on a family of witches. The Witching Hour is fantastic and original. Lasher, the second book is okay but you can see this series starting to head south as well. I have been reading just about everything she has written over the years, despite my continuing disappointment, with the hopes that there will be some return to previous form. It hasn't panned out and I think it's time to quit this habit.
Although he doesn't write series another spotty writer for me is John Irving . It seems that he hits gold every two or three books with the ones in between being pretty mediocre. World According to Garp is probably one of the best modern fiction novels in American lit. Similarly, I thought that Cider House Rules and A Widow for One Year were absolutely wonderful. But A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Fourth Hand and Until I Find You were very average. I actually couldn't stand Owen Meany and struggled to finish it, but I know loads of people loved it (which is the beauty of literature really). It seems that he is due for a really good one now so I am willing to stick it out with him for a bit. Plus he lives in Toronto and has been featuring it in his books lately so he scores points with me there too.
In the end although I am now very sad that there are no more Harry Potters (supposedly), I am grateful that the series is not going to suffer from dilution in order to keep the franchise alive. If Rowlings is going to write again, her biggest challenge is going to be to prove that she can write something other than Potter with just as much skill. In the meantime, I'll have to sit tight and wait for the movie.
One of the things that I am exceedingly grateful for with the last book is that Sam is now very motivated to get through the series. He is a little daunted by the size of the remaining books but he is SO curious as to what happens in Deathly Hallows that I think he will overcome that. He has been peppering me with questions all week. When I finished it last night, I have to admit, I was a bit weepy - not because of the content of the book but because I knew that there weren't any more coming...at least not any time soon.
This actually led me to thinking about other prolific authors and the merits of getting out while you are still on top. I have mentioned in previous posts that I have a tendency to latch on to writers that I like and read everything they write. This goes back to high school when I discovered Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hardy, etc. What really hit me this week is how disappointing it is when an author that you love loses his/her touch.
Take Anne Rice for example. She has been an extremely prolific author but is best known for her Vampire Chronicles series of books. The first two books Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are outstanding in my opinion but the following books are diluted and boring. I thought she struck gold again when she started a series on a family of witches. The Witching Hour is fantastic and original. Lasher, the second book is okay but you can see this series starting to head south as well. I have been reading just about everything she has written over the years, despite my continuing disappointment, with the hopes that there will be some return to previous form. It hasn't panned out and I think it's time to quit this habit.
Although he doesn't write series another spotty writer for me is John Irving . It seems that he hits gold every two or three books with the ones in between being pretty mediocre. World According to Garp is probably one of the best modern fiction novels in American lit. Similarly, I thought that Cider House Rules and A Widow for One Year were absolutely wonderful. But A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Fourth Hand and Until I Find You were very average. I actually couldn't stand Owen Meany and struggled to finish it, but I know loads of people loved it (which is the beauty of literature really). It seems that he is due for a really good one now so I am willing to stick it out with him for a bit. Plus he lives in Toronto and has been featuring it in his books lately so he scores points with me there too.
In the end although I am now very sad that there are no more Harry Potters (supposedly), I am grateful that the series is not going to suffer from dilution in order to keep the franchise alive. If Rowlings is going to write again, her biggest challenge is going to be to prove that she can write something other than Potter with just as much skill. In the meantime, I'll have to sit tight and wait for the movie.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
It's Here!!
It's here. Harry Potter arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I wasn't here but I was very excited anyway. Just got back from a long weekend in New York City with Doug, my brother Christopher and his wife Sheri. This was Christopher's 30th birthday present, complete with a trip to his personal Mecca: Yankee Stadium.
New York was completely buzzing with excitement leading up to the midnight Saturday release. On Friday afternoon, the Scholastic Book Store in SOHO had closed part of the street (Prince Street I think) with a whole Harry Potter festival. The area featured Press registration at "The Daily Prophet", face painting, wand making, and a working Whomping Willow.
New York was completely buzzing with excitement leading up to the midnight Saturday release. On Friday afternoon, the Scholastic Book Store in SOHO had closed part of the street (Prince Street I think) with a whole Harry Potter festival. The area featured Press registration at "The Daily Prophet", face painting, wand making, and a working Whomping Willow.
It was really quite something to see: little kids in their Gryffindor robes and Harry Potter glasses and wizarding hats celebrating this book. How many little kids get this excited about a book? Of course there were also the grown ups also dressed in full Harry Potter gear which recollects Star Trek, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings geek festivals. The teenaged Hermiones complete with kilts and knee socks added an even rawer element (however, they were walking down 6th at 11 pm and I can't be positive they were waiting for the book).
The kids should be in bed in the next 20 minutes and then I'm going to crack open that spine. I'll surface when I finish and hope with all my heart that it can live up to the hype.
The kids should be in bed in the next 20 minutes and then I'm going to crack open that spine. I'll surface when I finish and hope with all my heart that it can live up to the hype.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Harry Potter
This is my first real post (the welcome note doesn’t really count). There is so much I want to share and I realize that if I start writing about everything I have read over the past couple of years, it would probably be more like a dissertation or never ending rambling, then a blog post. So as I sit on a plane, on the way home from yet another trip, I was trying to think about where to start. Then it came to me: Harry Potter.
J.K. Rowling got me reading fanatically again. My son Sam has the entire Harry Potter series (I am desperately waiting for the latest release). When Sam turned six, I started asking him when we could start reading the Harry Potter books together. I was chomping at the bit to start reading them and wouldn’t see any of the movies because I wanted to share the experience with him.
After almost 2 years of pleading, I finally said the hell with it. During Christmas break 2005, I started The Philosopher’s Stone. Six weeks later I was finished the six books. I was completely addicted. I set aside time during the day, I went to bed early - right after the kids went to bed so I could get a good couple of hours of reading. Sam was completely nonplussed. He would ask me polite questions: “How’s Harry Potter Mommy?”, “Which one are you on now Mommy?” “Do you like this one better than the other ones Mommy?” but was generally uninterested in reading them. Not since I discovered Anne Rice when I was 15 (more on this in some future post) had I become completely obsessed with a series of books.
Based on the fortune that Miss Rowling has now amassed I am clearly not the only one who feels this way. There is something so gratifying about a book or series of books that is so well written, especially one that is based in fantasy. It draws you in, you become entwined in the characters, their emotions and you care about what happens to them and appeals to such a broad audience. That is the Harry Potter phenomenon in my opinion.
So, I anxiously wait for book seven, hoping that all of the rumours of a major character getting killed are nothing but malicious lies.
And, in case you’re interested Sam (now nine) is starting the third book. He loved the first two. We have all of the movies now too but the rule in the house is that there is no movie until the book has been read.
The book is always better than the movie.
My last trip:
May 28 to June 8: Rome, Turin (Torino), Paris (romantic weekend getaway with Doug), Monte Carlo & Stockholm
I read:
Lady Chatterly’s Lover, DH Lawrence
The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo
(observations to come in upcoming posts)
I was listening to a lot of:
Amy Winehouse
The Shins
The Tragically Hip
J.K. Rowling got me reading fanatically again. My son Sam has the entire Harry Potter series (I am desperately waiting for the latest release). When Sam turned six, I started asking him when we could start reading the Harry Potter books together. I was chomping at the bit to start reading them and wouldn’t see any of the movies because I wanted to share the experience with him.
After almost 2 years of pleading, I finally said the hell with it. During Christmas break 2005, I started The Philosopher’s Stone. Six weeks later I was finished the six books. I was completely addicted. I set aside time during the day, I went to bed early - right after the kids went to bed so I could get a good couple of hours of reading. Sam was completely nonplussed. He would ask me polite questions: “How’s Harry Potter Mommy?”, “Which one are you on now Mommy?” “Do you like this one better than the other ones Mommy?” but was generally uninterested in reading them. Not since I discovered Anne Rice when I was 15 (more on this in some future post) had I become completely obsessed with a series of books.
Based on the fortune that Miss Rowling has now amassed I am clearly not the only one who feels this way. There is something so gratifying about a book or series of books that is so well written, especially one that is based in fantasy. It draws you in, you become entwined in the characters, their emotions and you care about what happens to them and appeals to such a broad audience. That is the Harry Potter phenomenon in my opinion.
So, I anxiously wait for book seven, hoping that all of the rumours of a major character getting killed are nothing but malicious lies.
And, in case you’re interested Sam (now nine) is starting the third book. He loved the first two. We have all of the movies now too but the rule in the house is that there is no movie until the book has been read.
The book is always better than the movie.
My last trip:
May 28 to June 8: Rome, Turin (Torino), Paris (romantic weekend getaway with Doug), Monte Carlo & Stockholm
I read:
Lady Chatterly’s Lover, DH Lawrence
The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo
(observations to come in upcoming posts)
I was listening to a lot of:
Amy Winehouse
The Shins
The Tragically Hip
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