Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett has been a favorite book of many children for years. A grandfather is telling his grandchildren the story of the town of Chewandswallow. It is a town where the weather produces food that the whole town enjoys three times a day. However, one day the weather got out of control and the whole town had to evacuate and never return because it was too dangerous.

There has recently been a movie that was based on this book. It was a well done movie although there were several differences between it and the book. In the book there is no explanation for why the weather produces food. In the movie a machine has been created to turn the weather into food. The movie was a very enjoyable one. It is a movie that kids will love and will possible help children to appreciate the classic book even more.

International Literature for Children

It is very important for children to read books that have been written in other countries and could show the cultures for other countries. However, sometimes it is hard to choose quality books from other countries. One way that a person can make sure they are choosing qualities titles is by looking at awards given for international books and awards given for books on international topics. Some of these awards are:
Mildred Batchelder Award
“This award is given to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and then translated into English and published in the United States. The award is given by the American Library Association.”
Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
“Given in recognition of works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).”
One excellent book that was an honor book for the Mildred Batchelder Award is Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary by Ruud van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven. It is a wonderful account of Anne Frank with a great deal of photographs. Any child doing research for a paper or that is interested in the Holocaust would appreciate this book. It was translated from Dutch and was awarded the honor in 1994.

References

K12reader, . (2010, December 5). Book lists. Retrieved from http://www.k12reader.com/book-lists/

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is a classic of children’s literature that was made into a movie in 2009. It is the story of nine year old Max who runs away and becomes king of the wild things. The book was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964.        

The book is a short book, but it is wonderfully written. All that needs to be said is said. The illustrations of the wild things are amazing. They look like monsters, but they also look like they may be friendly. The colors in the book are muted which is appropriate since the story is somber.

The movie did a wonderful job recreating the characters in the book. They looked just like the illustrations for the book. The movie has parts that the book did not have because the length of the book was not enough to create a full length film.

The book is one of my favorites of all time. However, I was disappointed in the movie. I found the movie to be depressing and it was not much of a children’s story.  The cinematography was wonderful, but the story itself did not hold my interest much. The book is definitely much better than the movie.