Talking about children's books and films. Useful information for parents.
11 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: action, adventure, British history, castle, dragons, Fairy Tale, knights, Magic, Princess, saints, travel
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1985
Trina Schart Hyman, illustrator
text retold by Margaret Hodges
New York: Little, Brown, 1984
32 pp
ages 5 +
Interests: fairy tales, knights, dragons, princesses, quests, castles, British history, saints
Next: King Arthur stories, more about St. George
Also by this illustrator: Rapunzel, The Serpent Slayer; and Other Stories of Strong Women
22 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: adventure, fairies, Magic, nature, strong girls, travel, treasure
Rated: G
Length: 81 min
Age: 4 + (because of rats; might be okay for 3) Commonsense Media sez: 4+
Scary factor: escaping from red-eyed rats is quite scary, but action-packed and moves along quickly. Encounter with trolls is quickly defused as trolls are more goofy than scary, and easily dodged.
Intense scenes: More troublesome for the very young might be moments of high despair for Tinker Bell, and scenes in which she loses her temper with her friends, however she apologies and learns from all trials.
Warning: Excessive Merchandise Alert!
Interests: fairies, magic, nature, adventure, travel, treasure
More
14 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: adventure, animals, boats, dragons, jungle, maps, nature, ocean, travel
Ruth Stiles Gannett, author
Ruth Chrisman Gannett, illustrator
New York: Random House, 1948
87 p
ages 4+ (chapter book)
Interests: jungle animals, maps, travel adventure, dragons
13 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: adventure, boats, Fairy Tale, fish, Japan, Magic, nature, ocean, romance, sea creatures, spirits, storms, strong girls, weather, wizard
Rated: G
Length: 101 min.
Age: 4 and up.
Scary Factor: typhoon and tsunami, storm at sea mitigated by sight of little girl happily running on top of the waves!; entire island is submerged in huge flood, but no casualties
Intense scenes: twice Sosuke thinks his fish is dead (briefly); after floods Sosuke finds his mother’s car, eerily empty, and starts to cry, but finds her soon after
Language: mother calls the oddball wizard a “freakshow”; she also calls her husband a “Jerk!”; the wizard calls humans as a species “filthy” and “stupid” (which is justified)
Interests: ocean, sea creatures, magic, nature, spirits, boats, fish, wizards
Next: BOOK: The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen); MOVIES: My Neighbor Totoro, Finding Nemo (a little scarier), The Little Mermaid (a lot scarier)
10 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: adventure, boats, British history, fairies, London, Magic, octopus, pirates, strong girls, war
Rated: G
Length: 72 min.
Age: 4 and up. commonsense media sez: 5+
Scary Factor: opening scenes of WWII blitz in London may be alarming; as in the first film, pirate shenanigans are more slapsticky than scary
Also: separation from father, Captain Hook smokes
Interests: magic, fairies, pirates
Next: MOVIES: Peter Pan (1953) of course, The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Little Mermaid (1989); BOOKS: Peter Pan, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
04 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 5+ Tags: adventure, fairies, Fairy Tale, insects, Magic, ocean, puppets, single parent, theatre, toys, whales
Rated: G
Length: 88 min.
Age: 5 and up Commonsense Media sez: 6 +
Scary Factor: Stromboli character waving an axe and threatening; young Lampwick’s terror as he turns into a donkey; Coachman herding the donkey-boys with a whip; enormous whale Monstro chasing them at the end
Also: scenes with alcohol and smoking are too numerous to mention; some leering and mild sexual innuendo from lady’s man Jiminy; character playing with fire; wanton destruction
Intense: some children may have trouble with Pinocchio’s ‘death’ near the end, but keep them watching because he isn’t dead for long!
Language: “Give a bad boy enough rope and he’ll soon make a jackass of himself!”
Interests: fairy tales, fairies, magic, puppets, insects, ocean, whales
Next: Dumbo (also astonishingly not-politically-correct)
04 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies Tags: action, adventure, boats, crocodile, fairies, London, Magic, mermaids, pirates, romance, strong girls
Rated: PG – frightening scenes, violence
Length: 113 min.
Age: 8 and up. commonsense media sez: 9+
Scary Factor: violence and killing among the pirates, though no show of blood and gore; the mermaids are truly creepy, and Hook is genuinely threatening
Intense scenes: Wendy is shot down and believed briefly to be dead, Tinker Bell drinks poison and nearly dies, Peter is bashed around by Hook during final fight
Sexuality: only some sexual tension between Peter and Wendy, limited to a couple kisses; there is a glimpse of bare Lost Boy behinds at one point
Also: a brief sight of Hook’s amputated arm may bother the squeamish (though the wound is old: no blood); as always, the pirates smoke and drink, and liquor and cigars are offered to Wendy (she turns them down)
Interests: fairies, pirates, magic, mermaids
Next: read the original novel Peter Pan, see the grittier pirate movies (Pirates of the Caribbean are for the 12+ crowd)
03 Mar 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: adventure, boats, crocodile, fairies, London, Magic, mermaids, pirates
Rated: G
Length: 76 min.
Age: 4 and up. commonsense media sez: 5+
Scary Factor: Nothing too bad at all – everything handled with great humour, especially Hook and pursuing crocodile.
Cringe Factor: “What Makes the Red Man Red” song, and stereotypical depiction of ‘redskins’; also not very enlightened re. female role models
Violence: much ‘play’ violence, violent language on part of kids, bloodless swordfights, at some point in past Peter cut off Hook’s hand, but this is not seen
Interests: fairies, pirates, magic, mermaids
Next: see it on the stage! (an excellent first play), read the book, older children (8+) could watch the 2003 live action Peter Pan
Rarest Kind of Best 