What was your First Middle Grade Novel?

Merry Monday morning, Mayhemers! I know, it's hard to be chipper on a Monday, but I'm here at work, at 6 AM, so I've got little choice. Well, I suppose I could be grumpy, but it's hard enough to make it through the day as is.

Anyway, today I want to talk about what the first book we fell in love with around the age of MG readers (or in my case, a little before, but that's okay). Now, I know, this is a bit of a stretch. There was no such thing as MG or YA when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, and it's hard to argue it's a Middle Grade novel when the main character is 50 years old in the book (if I remember correctly). But, I think the argument can be made that were The Hobbit written today, someone in one of the Big 6's marketing departments would sell it as a Middle Grade Fantasy.

Now, I could easily be wrong, but I'll try to make an argument for why it might work. For one thing, even though Bilbo is 50 something, he's a Hobbit, and Hobbits, while hale and hardy, and somehow far more resistant to the power of magic rings than men, aren't actually considered adults until they're 33. So a fifty-year-old Hobbit is still somewhat young. And besides, even full grown Hobbits are just cute. They're always sort of roly-poly, optimistic, and clever. They're the perfect characters for young readers to enjoy, even if they do smoke and drink a lot.

Another thing that I think makes this book one that would fit in well as MG is the plot, and the level of adult content it includes. Which is to say: very little. There is some violence, but it is almost always resolved comically or with a pleasant escape, and there is never any death, unless you count the dragon at the end. Bilbo and his Dwarves escape the trolls when the sun comes up and turns them to stone. They escape the Goblins when the Eagles pluck them from the trees. They escape the Wood Elves by riding barrels down the river. These are all clever ways to get out of danger without including something that would frighten young children. Heck, I read this book in like third grade, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I had the read along graphic novel version that came with a vinyl record you could listen to.

So I could probably go on about this book, and Tolkien, forever, but the point here is that this was the first full length novel I read as a boy, and it engendered my love of reading ever since. It wasn't technically a MG novel at the time, but I think it would fit in on that shelf today, and I have certainly let my kids read it, as young as they wanted to. I can't wait until my nephew is 8 or so, and I can turn him on to Middle Earth as well. Are any of you as excited for the film adaptation as I am?

What do you guys think? Have you read The Hobbit? Think it would sell as MG if published today? What MG books first influenced your love of reading?

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

This post originally ran at Caroline by line December 2011.
My boys are at an age when my suggestions for read alouds aren't always greeted with enthusiasm. There are times I'm able to win them over by reading a few chapters, but more often than not, they'll turn down my titles and suggest something of their own.  At eight and ten, I can hardly blame them for developing their own tastes -- it's a good thing! But it does make me a little sad when they show little to no interest in titles I've enjoyed in the past or new books I would like to read.  Enter THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. I bought a copy of HUGO while teaching in Louisiana (thank you, Scholastic Book Orders!) but had never gotten around to reading it. When I learned there would soon be a movie based on the book (now nominated for a gazillion Oscars), I decided to give the story a try with my boys. I'm so glad I did.  

 We raced through HUGO in a couple of days. Both boys finished before I did then indulged me in reading the ending again. The combination of pictures and words and the mysterious nature of the storyline really held their attention. 

 Last week I took them to see the movie. It did not disappoint. The natural lighting used to mimic the style of early film, the Paris-as-cogworks opening image -- it was wonderful. All three of us loved the experience and the way the story unfolded on the screen. It was interesting to see what changes were made in the book's translation into a visual story:

• stronger development of the villainous station master
• the addition of several dream sequences
• The absence of the character, Etienne

For those of you who have both read the book and seen the movie, I'd love to hear your impressions. 

And...Action!

I was surprised the other day when I went to a website and saw a big advertising banner for a movie that was “coming soon.” I was surprised because I had no idea the movie was being made, and it was based on a crazy popular MG book. A book I love! And that movie? HUGO, based on THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, by Brian Selznick. And it’s directed by Martin Scorsese. Talk about a movie I absolutely HAVE to see!
* By the way, the movie releases November 23rd.




And this leads to my topic, which is: MG books to movies. It’s obvious that most movies were once books, and avid readers, like us, often feel a stronger connection to the story after reading the book version, and then we feel that strong connection when watching the movie version. We don’t want the sacred story we cherish to be chopped and sliced and diced the way they often are when books are turned into movies. And this is why we approach most movies with extreme caution when we’ve read the book version beforehand. I have a good feeling that HUGO will not be a let-down, due to the fact that the book had so many drawings that it was basically a storyboard Scorsese could use when adapting it to film. And then there’s the fact that Scorsese is a filmmaking god. Yes, I am very much hopeful the movie version will be a pleasure, much like the book was when I read it.

So let me ask you a couple questions. What are the best MG books-to-movies? And tell me about a MG book that hasn’t been turned into a movie yet but should?

Call Me Old-Fashioned...

I recently saw my very first D-box movie. I didn’t even know what D-box was until a couple of weeks ago, so for those of you as un-D-box savvy as me, it’s motion-enhanced movie theater chairs that move along with the action on the screen. So when Harry, Ron, and Hermione went zipping along in the mining cars beneath Gringotts, it felt like we were riding the rails along with them. And that plunge that Harry and Voldemort take off the heights of Hogwarts in the last minutes of the movie—well, I felt a bit like I was going to tip out of my theater chair, lol.

D-box is not quite as intense as those movie-type rides at Disneyland or amusement parks—yet—but I don’t think I could sit through two hours of my theater chair moving quite that forcefully, anyway. Besides, it would make eating popcorn a bit hard. Still, the combination of digital 3D and a motion-enhanced chair made for a pretty high-tech movie-going experience. And I have to admit, it was fun. But would I go out of my way to see movies in D-box on a regular basis—and pay the steep price for the tickets? Probably not. Let’s face it—a good movie is a good movie even without all these added bells and whistles. I have many friends, in fact, who refuse to see movies in 3D because they feel it’s distracting and unnecessary and actually takes away from the movie experience.

This makes me think about a conversation I recently had with a manager of a bookstore about the future of books now that they’ve entered the electronic realm. He predicted we would see ebooks becoming more and more high-tech and interactive. For example, instead of a simple illustration of a door on the screen, the reader would be able to actually open the door with a touch, revealing what was on the other side. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against ebooks. But I think I can do without such frivolities as interactive illustrations. To me, there’s something about this that depersonalizes the experience. Wouldn’t a young reader—or any reader for that matter—be better served imagining a dragon soaring across the sky rather than dragging a graphic of a wing-flapping dragon across their ereader screen?

There’s a possibility, too, that we’ll see ebooks become more gamey, e.g. you’ll have to solve a puzzle or win a game in order to move on to the next chapter, etc. Now this idea really makes my heart ache. I hate the thought of books being reduced to a form of video game. No thank you. It’s not a game—it’s a book!

Personally, I think books should be about words and stories, not interactive graphics and games. It’s not for me—and I definitely think it would detract from the reading experience.

I guess I’m kind of old school about such things. What do you think about books going high-tech?

-Dawn Lairamore


photo credit: final_station via photo pin cc

photo credit: Patrick Hoesly via photopin cc

MG book to movie - your favorites?

You find a lot of different opinions about movie adaptions of books amongst authors and readers:

NooooooOOO stinky adaptions! Books are for BOOKS and not for filmsies! You are so tricksy!

Movie adaptions are de BOMB and we love them!
Just the movie, thanks. Book = no way!

(I think some authors are afraid of this last one the most.)

And so on.

I think that movie adaptions are definitely not all bad. I like the idea of kids (and I've known a few) reading the books afterwards to find out the 'real story'. I like the idea of that continuous promotion and the "now in film!" stickers they find to put on them. I like the idea of the extra money the author gets for selling the rights.

That being said, there are drawbacks. The random plot. The hatchet job. Low sales. The worst aspect of it for me is the change in your imagination. I had a very clear picture of Harry in my mind before I saw the movie. After, it had changed, and I didn't know if I liked that.

What are your favourite film adaptions? One that you saw before you read the book? One that you thought actually worked from the book? One that was so far off the track you wondered if they'd actually even read it?

Mine are, hands-down:

1. LOTR (I actually went & read the books *after* seeing the movie. I liked the movie better, ha!) I'm going to count this one because I know that the Hobbit (mg) will be every bit as good if not better.

2. Harry Potter (while they did not have all the details, I think everything was good. But what was up with Daniel Radcliff's eyes? HELLO, green!)3. The Black Stallion (while the plot was mostly there, I'll admit it. I watched it for Cass Ole)

Honorary mention: Where the Red Fern Grows. The dogs. Were. Gorgeous. Rats of Nimh was also super.

What are your favourite MG film adaptions? Will Harry Potter win? Stay tuned....