Bridge the movie was a success. It did not stray as far from the book as I initially thought it would and it kept enough of the character development from the book to draw the reader into the friendship between Jesse and Leslie. Leslie's death left me almost as sad in the theater as I have been every time I've read it at home. There were, however, some critical differences.
While I was very impressed with the casting of Jesse and I loved May Belle and Leslie, Jesse's mom looked nothing like I imagined her. I expected a slightly plump woman in a well worn dress with a very sour expression on her face. In the movie she was so sweet and her only real shortcoming was her financial stress. Not having the mom of the book made it harder to understand where Jesse was coming from when he discovered Leslie and Terabithia. In the book his need for escape was so obvious, not so in the movie. Another issue I had was the new time period for the story. The reference to the internet and "digital media" seemed silly. Never in a million years would a teacher of today take a student on a field trip to the city in her own car, by herself, without a signed permission slip. It's as realistic as the characters in Terabithia.
The imaginings (is that a word?) of Jesse and Leslie were fun to watch. As I said in my blog about the book, I never really noticed much about their adventures in Terabithia. However, in the movie I was reminded of my own childhood experiences of running through the hills and trees in search of thieves, giants, and strange animals. I remember feeling the breath of the "thing" behind us and running as fast as we could to escape. With the high grasses or corn stalks flying past as we ran, it did seem like we ran like the wind. I thought the movie captured that feeling only felt by children very well. While most adults will probably think it's over the top, I would guess many of the kids will find it just right. The power of imagination.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
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Piggy Monday A Tale About Manners written and illustrated by Suzanne Bloom
Suzanne Bloom is fabulous. My preschoolers are big fans of her Is This the Bus For Us, Gus?. My family just got Piggy Monday A Tale About Manners and we love it! When I first looked at the cover, I thought it would scare my chidlren, 4 and 6. That they would be afraid of turning into pigs themselves. Quite the contrary.
The book begins with a class of children who are teasing, being rude, talking in class, etc. As their behavior deteriorates throughout the day, they begin growing pig snouts, hooves, and tails, until they are all little pigs. The Pig Lady comes to the rescue and reminds them of their manners. As they begin to use manners, their pig parts disappear and they become polite young children. By the end, they are all complementing each other, reminding each other of the proper way to say things and do things, and saying please and thank you.
The illustrations are fabulous inspiring fits of laughter from my children as the students tear apart the classroom and acquire one pig part at a time. The story is in verse which always attracts the attention of young listeners and the dedication, "to that sparkling class who inspired this tale" was a great topic of conversation afterwards - "Did this really happen?" "Are there really kids who don't have any manners?" "Kids can't turn into pigs!"
A few days after reading this book my children were arguing over some precious toy they both desperately needed at the same time and I looked in the doorway and said, "I see a pig tail ... and an ear!" My children stopped arguing immediately and started looking at each other for their pig parts. They rolled in a fit of laughter and actually apologized to each other without being told to!!!! It was terrific! Later that night my husband forgot to say please and my son was quick to say, "Be careful Daddy, you're going to get a pig tail." Humor is such a great way to remind children to make good choices, rather than getting angry or frustrated. The kids catch each other and because of the fabulous imagery from the illustrations, they can't help but laugh at the thought.
I'm so glad I did not judge this book by its cover.
1 comment:
You are so right about the permission slip!
I also liked the feeling of the running. You described that well!
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