Thrice as nice!
by PattySmith
When I was teaching I always had to giggle (to myself) when a student mistakenly thought a book was based on a movie, instead of the other way around. Many of my students got a whole lot more screen time than they did book time, so it was an understandable mistake.
If it was available, I often showed the movie version of a book after we completed reading it. It served as a treat for a job well done and also as a way to stretch out a lesson. After watching the movie I had my students write a paper on the differences they observed. Often children are so much more observant than adults and I was amazed at some of the differences my students, and my own children, came up with. (In my home I don’t make my children write a paper, but we do have great conversations on their findings!)
At the Ann Arbor District Library we have a many titles that allow for this type of interaction. One of my all time favorites is Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. The story is about a wily fox that uses his impressive cunning to outsmart three feeble-minded farmers, who resort to extreme measures to protect their chickens. (The book is 81 pages long and can be read in the time it would take to watch the movie.) The movie, directed by Wes Anderson, stars the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and William Defoe, to name a few. It is great family flick that can be enjoyed by all, young and old. The soundtrack (also available at the AADL) features some fun Burl Ives classics, 60s pop and rock tunes and a few other quirky ditties that are fit for family listening.
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